tomorrow is a new year, yes really.

It's the last day of 2011 and to be honest I'm both shocked and in denial about this. Where has the year gone? How can it actually be the end of the year? It's not even the fact that we're not going out anywhere flash. The last 3 NYE's I've been pregnant and really where's the fun in going out when you're tired, peeing every 5 minutes and can't drink alcohol. I'm quite accustomed to spending a quiet night at home. It's more the fact that this year has gone too fast. I found out I was pregnant (again), went back to work, put my two older ones into full time daycare, bought and moved into a bigger house, pulled the kids out of daycare, hubby changed jobs, and we had a baby (again). It's been a busy busy year. And 2012 will be the first year in a while where we won't be having a baby. The days have all kinda rolled into one another. Christmas totally snuck up on me, and NYE well, surely it's not here already. Sadly though it is... 2012 is tomorrow?? Eek!

I've decided to make a couple of resolutions for the new year. I don't normally do resolutions so we'll see how these ones go.
1. I'm getting organised again. I used to be the queen of organised but recently I've felt like life is getting on top of me. I've forgotten more birthdays than I care to admit, I've been late for or gotten lost getting to multiple events. I've left things off my shopping lists, forgotten basic errands like dry cleaning, post office drop offs, bought half the things we needed at the chemist like the syringe but not the medicine??? Yes life with three under 3 is hectic but I'm not coping with being so dis-organised. There was a time I could find something, passports, receipts, instruction guides etc in an instant. I knew where recipes were, where all the kids clothes, specific outfits and toys were. Now it's a case of look til you find it. For everything. Must change this STAT!
2. To continue losing weight and do something for me. I lost 8kg with WW but stalled a bit the closer Christmas got. After 3 years in a row of no alcohol and limited good food well I was determined to enjoy this year. I'm sure I've put on 5kg with all I've eaten, I'm too scared to get on the scales, but I've enjoyed it so who cares right? Start again Jan 1 with the rest of the world!!
And lastly
3. To budget better. We will be on one wage all year so there will be no choice but to be organised and budget. We want to go on our first family holiday so I must find a way to stretch that into the budget. Little Miss will be one in August so once that's happened we're gonna head off somewhere. No idea where yet, but somewhere!

So yes I have a few resolutions to keep, wish me luck! And happy New Year to all!!

SNAP happy

Christmas 2011 has been and gone, and like many first dates, sadly it's left me feeling rather let down. All the anticipation, all the preparation, all the excitement, and for what? I'm left with overtired kids, over flowing bins, a fridge bursting at the seams, too many toys and no idea where to put them. We had a fabulous Christmas and boxing day, lots of family, lots of food, lots of presents, a few drinks and a few laughs. My brother took great delight in taking the piss (so to speak) out of me as I tried to host hot lunch for 18 adults. It ended up being alot of work and thank goodness for family who stepped in, as without the team effort we would have been ordering pizza for sure. Lunch was a hit, we all ate, drank and were merry. The kids ran riot, eating a lovely diet of chips, lollies, cake, pink chicken (ham) and chicken (turkey) for 2 days straight. Not much day sleep was had as the excitement was just too much to handle and as a result we're still enduring many tantrums. Sometimes it's a bad thing to have such routine driven kids. Present opening was a blur or ripped paper, discarded gift tags and piles upon piles of presents. Fark knows where we're gonna put all this stuff?? I honestly cannot tell you who gave what to my kids and am embarrassed to say I am going to have to ask. Monkey Man ripped everything at great pace and with sheer delight, bearing in mind this is the first christmas for him where he's really understanding the whole present concept. Funnily enough he will tell you that 'Santa brings Thomas' as every gift he got was more of that bloody blue train. He also tantrummed when there was still gifts under the tree and he was told he couldn't open them as they weren't for him. Missy Moo was very overwhelmed by all the people, the noise, and clung to Daddy most of the time, him or Nanny (my Mum). I was avoided as I was clearly the scary, stressed, sweating one trying to get the vegies cooked so we could eat before NYE. We have a reasonably big house but there were alot of people in my little kitchen! Little Miss just took it all in, watched the goings on and occasionally cried when people stuck their heads right into her face. Why people think babies like that I'll never know? Would you like it if someone stuck their head right in your face? I doubt it.

Overall it was a lovely time, and I am grateful for our health, happiness and blessed to have wonderful people in our lives. I am a little sad though, as once again there is no photos of my kids and I on the day, either of the days. That was my little baby's first christmas and I don't have a photo of us together. I just wish that someone would occasionally grab a camera for me and take some pics. I host these events as a. I enjoy it and b. it's easier with my young kids to stay home in our environment. I don't have to worry about a car packed to the rafters for a day out, my kids destroying anyone elses property and their beds, clothes etc are all at hand if and when needed. My daughters were christened earlier this year and there is no photos of us together. Christmas has been and gone, no photos of us together. And no photo of my family of 5 from either event. Family and friends tease me about being obsessed with professional photos but it really seems to be the only way to get these photos. It sux to have to pay to have these moments captured. I'm seeing everyone's Christmas photos go up on facebook and I can't bring myself to post mine as I'm so disappointed with the few I managed to capture. Our kids will only be young for a short time, and they grow and change so much. It would be nice to capture more of that on film, if only for prosperitys sake.

Am I totally vain to think this way? How do I change this?

only 2 sleeps to go?

This morning bought me the realisation that there is only 2 sleeps to go til the fat man arrives, eek! Santa not only brings gifts with him but most of my family too. I love christmas, I love seeing kids faces when they open gifts, and I love getting everyone together. One side of my family doesn't get together often enough which is a shame really considering we usually have a ball when we do get together. Hubby's family is all overseas so we don't see them much. The prep that goes into hosting Christmas, is fairly intense and I'm still a novice at it all. It's such a busy time and I must admit I'm starting to feel very stressed. I have mountains of gifts to wrap, despite thinking I hadn't bought THAT much?? Do they multiply when you're not looking or what?? We have a monstrous train table to assemble and from all accounts, its not an easy task. I foresee alot of swearing and arguing over that task, and I am also fairly confident that we will have to assemble something, if not multiple somethings, each year, also with lots of swearing, name calling and arguing involved. Santa needs to drop his elves over the week before christmas so some other sucker can do the assembly. I have a house to clean and baking to do, with two toddlers under foot. I'm gonna attempt my first ever christmas ham, served hot. Anyone know if pizza hut delivers on christmas day?? Last minute bits to grab from coles and/or woolies depending on who has the shortest queues. I thought I was being all organised and domestic goddess like by booking an online grocery delivery for early christmas eve. Only problem is all the ingredients I need for previously mentioned baking are in that order. . . soooo no baking til tomorrow. oops. I also keep remembering gifts I haven't bought, people I've forgotten despite my numerous lists and more than I will admit to trips to the shops. I did a layby at a large toys store, thinking that would be easier and very organised of me - another attempt at being a domestic goddess. I had to queue to pay for layby, then queue again to collect, and then I only had half the lay by handed to me and was given attitude when I asked where the rest (giant train table) was. Seriously, whats with the attitude of the young these days? I almost gave myself a hernia trying to get the bloody train table in the car by myself whilst many men walked past, looked at me and kept going. When I got in the car kids christmas carols came on and I swore, alot, as I flicked find other music, ANYTHING but bloody Jingle Bells. Monkey Man insists on 'jing bells' being played multiple times whilst Missy Moo demands 'gigi' (wiggles) at the same time. Who wins? Whoever shouts the loudest basically.

Does it get easier as the kids get older? Will I ever learn my lesson and start planning gifts, buying gifts from say July onwards?? Please say yes, please?

online shopping is taking over!

I gathered the troops and rushed to the shops this morning with intentions of finishing a few more christmas gifts. I was having an internal panic, worrying about queueing for the carpark, getting a carpark, worrying about the shops being really busy and worry about getting everything done with 3 small ones in tow, and all before sleep time. We drove straight in, parked easily and the busiest place in the whole centre was the post office. I fueled the kids up with donuts and milkshakes and we too joined the queue. Overall the whole experience was painless and *ahem* almost enjoyable. The kids were really good although Little Miss will not sleep in the Baby Bjorn so she was awake the entire time. We received a few comments re 'having my hands full' but the shopping centre we went to is often frequented by big families so I'm assuming I wasn't the only one copping double takes and comments....

So I'm wondering where have all the people gone? This time last year, and every year before in fact, that there was traffic reports on the radio about carpark queues, there was stories on the evening news of the chaos in stores, the queues at check outs.... Venturing to the shops at this time of year was a suicide mission, enter at your own risk!! This year? Well everyone is home waiting to receive the parcels of online shopping they did, thats where they've gone! I did alot of shopping online and if I hadn't been waiting for payday on the 15th of Dec I would have done more. I will be more organised next year!! Online shopping is taking over, you can't deny it. Everyone is doing some form of shopping online. Heck, I've even done my christmas grocery order online and booked delivery for xmas eve. A few more things to get and I'm all done, and hey whatever I don't get now well it won't matter will it?

I might even consider taking the kidlets with me another day to get a few more bits and pieces, and I just remembered I forgot ice cream on the grocery order, and well I can't be having that!!

it's too early

With 3 young kids we've had many many early mornings, in fact if we make it past 6am we celebrate. Years ago I would have cried if you'd told me that 6am would become my normal wake up time.... Accepting such an early start to the day took some time and I am still filled with jealousy when a friend mentions their 8 or 9 am start time. Being up so early has its perks though, washing is usually done and out before most people are awake, baking can also be done and if we ever went on a road trip or holiday then the early start would be a must. I guess, at 4 something am as I write this, I wonder when is it too early? Missy Moo went through weeks of 4am wake ups, would need two day sleeps to cope which made going anywhere during the day next to impossible. Before that Monkey Man woke at 5am for months! Gawd we thought that was bad enough and then bam! 4am became the norm?!?! Missy Moo appeared to have turned a corner sleep wise and was doing 7-7, sometimes later (!!) consistently. Hubby and I only talked about it on Saturday. And we clearly jinxed it because Sunday and this morning were back to 4.30am!! Dammit! This morning is extra special as my hubby has gone away for work AND Little Miss is awake too. So it's now 5am, I've been up for an hour already, given panadol, hugs, a feed, water, pats and sssh's and I'm sitting on the hallway floor between the two girls rooms. I dare not go back to bed. A. As soon as I lay down someone will cry out again and B. I'm close enough to get to either of them before they make so much noise they wake up Monkey Man. Two awake at this time is bad enough, 3 and I think I'll have a champagne breakfast.

At what time do you think 'it's too early!!'

star light, star bright, first star I see tonight

A little girl passed away last night. She was only 23 months old, which is 6 months younger than my Monkey Man. I simply cannot imagine what her family are going through right now. They've been to hell and back over the last year, their baby suffered a rare degenerative mitochondrial disorder which finally took her life last night, peacefully while in her mother and fathers arms. I found out about Stella star's passing while I was doing christmas shopping in Target today, and I promptly burst into tears. I sobbed actually. The thought of anything like that happening to my monkeys set me off over and over again, no matter how much I tried to compose myself. Little Miss was having one of her many cat naps in the pram and despite knowing I should leave her to sleep, I picked her up and cuddled her tight. Right there in the check out queue in Target, with tears flowing down my face. The sadness was just overwhelming. I rushed to daycare to collect my bigger monkeys and we came straight home. I watched them playing, squealing, laughing and said a little prayer to myself, thanking the heavens for my healthy happy children. Tonight I will count my blessings, kiss my sleeping babies and dream of their futures. My heart breaks for Stella's family, her baby brother who will never remember his big sister and her devoted loving parents who will never forget her. Stella touched so many people during her short life. Her Mum blogged about her illness and their wishes and hopes for their baby. My facebook feed is filled with sad messages and prayers. Many never met Stella but so many knew of her and her battle, and so many are saddened by her loss. RIP gorgeous girl, the world is truly a better place for having you in it, even though it was only for a short time. xxx

be prepared

Yesterday, Monkey Man gave me a bit of a fright and we went for our first ride in an ambulance together. At the time it was serious but I have to admit the thought did cross my mind as to whether it was appropriate to take a photo of him. Decided no, it was a bit too japanese tourist. Anyway, a high temp saw him turn into a non-responsive toddler and off we went to the Childrens Hospital. When his temp was 38 and he was a bit lethargic I called Health Direct for some advice as I am a massive believer in not wasting the time of resources like GPs and hospitals. Health Direct put me through to the ambulance service based on the answers I gave to their questions and I really felt like it was all spiralling out of control and things were getting a bit melodramatic. I'm pretty sure if you listened to the recording of my 000 conversation I said the same thing. Paramedics arrived, did a few tests, his temp was now 39 and he was happy to lie there and let them poke and prod him. So unlike him. At first the paramedics said I should take him to a GP as he wasnt well but certainly didn't need hospital. I felt so silly and kept apologising for wasting their time. Next thing, Monkey Man crashed, was pretty much non-responsive so the paramedics said he was going to hospital. He sat completely still all the way there, staring into space, pale as a ghost. Very un-monkey man-like behaviour!! His temp was 40.8 by the time we got to hospital and he was a koala, wrapped around me and determined to be cuddled. All 16kg of him. Panadol was given, tests carried out and it appears nothing serious was wrong with him just a raging temperature. Once that calmed down he was happy and was soon owning the emergency room. There was a fishtank which by the way fixes everything. He coloured in - I kept that for his memory box. We were finally discharged about 9pm and he was on a steroid high, chatting away in the back seat and in awe of christmas lights on the way home. My kids go to bed at 7pm on the button so have rarely seen actual nighttime so when they do its a bit exciting for them. I'm so selfish depriving them of dark skies, stars and night air.... Anyway, today he is much much better despite not a great deal of sleep last night. All fingers, toes, eyes etc here are crossed for a better night and some sleep for all of us.

In all the panic I called my Mum and asked her to come from work. My husband was interstate, yay! I then called a friend to come and sit with the girls til Mum got here. It was approaching dinner/bath/bed time when all this happened, the most full on time of the day. I barked a few orders at my friend and ran out the door. I'm a control freak at the best of times but to walk out and leave my girls with a friend, well that was hard. I trust her completely but the organised freak in me was having a hard time accepting that someone else could handle it. And I thought all the way to hospital... 'oh no, the towels are in the machine, so there is no towels in the kids bathroom', 'oh I didn't fill the bottles up will they know how much to put in them?', 'will they know that Missy Moo likes the cheese slices but not the cheese sticks (at the moment!) and when she asks for cheese that what she means?', 'do the girls have clean PJ's in their rooms?', etc etc etc. The girls are in similar sized nappies at the moment and both packs are next to each other in the bathroom, will they know which ones are which? This is all stuff that as a Mum, I know, I don't have to memorise it, I just know. I realised that my house and the way I run things are not that easy for others to just pick up. So, in true girl guide manner, in the spirit of being prepared I've made mental notes to make some changes, labels in the linen press, labels on the nappy packs (which I did today), pre-packed nappy bags at the ready just in case. I have their blue books together and at the ready and always have my medicare card in my wallet. I usually have supplies in my handbag should I take that instead of a nappy bag, snacks, hand wipes, emergency nappies and dummies... not much in my bag is actually for me to be honest?? I already have their clothes in drawers in seasons, and outfits together in said drawers - this is more for hubby who would dress Missy Moo in the weirdest combinations. And I must get a whiteboard so I can scribble notes for anyone stepping in. I'm sure there are some other things I can do to help anyone that may need to step in. With 3 kids I dare say that won't be our last trip to hospital or the last in an ambulance, although I'll be very happy if the next are a long way away.

judgey judgey!!

Tonight we watched the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fasion Parade.... wow, those women have some smokin hot bodies!! It's easy to sit here, eating my cornetto, and judge. Statements like 'wait til they have kids' came to mind, and then I remembered people like Miranda Kerr have had kids! GAH!! damn you and your perfect bodies to hell! LOL And by the way, how do they walk in those heels or never get wedgies (front or back) is just well unimaginable.

Judging other people is a terrible habit and we all do it. Alot won't admit it, but we all do. Mothers seem to be the worst at judging each other. Why can't we all just support each other?? Today I heard of a mother being told she was 'one of those mothers' after she posted a Santa photo of her kids on facebook. Her youngest was a little upset in the pic, as are most little kids but the pic was still adorable, and an all important memory for mumma and child. In a truly gutless way, this woman sent her judgement via a message rather than posting her thoughts on the wall for all to see. That right there tells me she knew what she was saying was wrong. That and the fact she started off with 'don't take this the wrong way'!?!?!? There is never a good way to say that, and if you're going to start off with that, then perhaps its best you rethink or bite your tongue. My Mum taught me if I had nothing nice to say, then not to speak at all. I'm getting better at this as I get older and it's certainly a case of practice making perfect.

I've seen a couple of similar discussions online recently between Mums, usually always about parenting choices. Hell I had one 'friend' tell me to pull my Missy Moo out of daycare as she went through a seemingly never ending run of illnesses. Turns out she thought MM went 5 days which was her reasoning for her instruction but really that shouldn't matter. If I choose to send my children to daycare then that should be my choice and not really a matter for anyone else. If I want to hold off on toilet training Monkey Man til he's ready, if I want to hold off on introducing solids to Little Miss for a bit longer, if I want to put her in the bath seat rather than try to hold her in the bath with two splashing and jumping excitable toddlers by her side, if I choose to let my MM climb and stand on the lounge, and fall off over and over again in an attempt to make her learn then thats MY CHOICE!!! You may not like it, just like I may not like or agree with some of your choices but honestly, deal with it.

My teenage niece made a comment on the weekend about a lady she'd just met. We were at a party, the ones where you buy stuff and this lady bought a few things, totalling $20. She told the party host she would have to pay another day. My niece got on her high horse and stated (in a whisper type way) 'as if you don't have $20, go get your wallet and pay up!'.... I cringed inside hearing this. For some people $20 is the difference between milk and bread for the kids and being flat broke. For whatever reason she couldn't spare the $20 for a few days, the host respected this so why couldn't others?

And on a side note, my daughter may be a gymnast in training. Last week she flipped off our king size bed. She insists on getting up with me while I feed Little Miss, and I tell her over and over to move away from the edge as she will fall, to sit down as she'll fall off. Well after a few near misses, where I've caught her by the waist of her PJs, an arm or leg, it finally happened. She fell, stunt man style head over heels and landed flat on her back. It's a long way down and she screamed and screamed. There was no injury, perhaps to her pride, but I'm sure she was ok and within 3 minutes she was asking to get back up again?? Today she fell off the lounge, despite doing the same thing last week. Do they ever learn? These toddler injuries may well land us at hospital soon but I'm a big believer in not babying my kids. From an early age when they've fallen I've encouraged them to get up and try again, reassured them they're ok and to try again. Maybe I've created the bravado in my kids? My grey hair increases by the hour while their confidence sky rockets. *smile*

Next time you hear a Mum tell her toddler 'you're ok, hop up'... don't feel sad or sorry for the child. They're getting taught a valuable lesson and chances are they've fallen over the same way 25 times already that day. And next time you think a judgey judgey thought, think about it for a bit before you say something... your judgement could be enough to make someone smile or cry.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

My little Monkey Man went on an adventure today, with Nanny and his uncle and aunty... they went on a train to the city and went to the aquarium. By all accounts, everyone had a good time and there are some great photos to remember the day by. Apart from finding Nemo and Dory, the turtles were a big hit, and the giant lego creations on display also a big hit. Nuggets were rejected as there was too much going on to concentrate on eating, it's hilarious to watch seagulls eat your rejected nuggets apparantly. And despite the no-climbing signs, Monkey Man did his thing and climbed all over everything. There is also photos of this.

So today was girls day out. I have lovely visions of future girls days out... I imagine girls days out at a later stage in time as us getting lunch, our hair done, a pedicure, some retail therapy etc etc. Today, I took my 4mo and 16mo out and we went for needles and grocery shopping. Needles, not noodles. What an idiot I am! We waited half an hour to see the Dr, despite me making a nurse appointment?? See the Dr, he explains that he needs to see all babies to ensure they are well before having their needles. Fair enough, I am cool with that, and only a little pissed off now that I had to wait half an hour rocking the pram with my foot and showing Missy Moo animal and number games on the iphone, explaining to her that not every letter of the alphabet is representative of 'BALLS'. He then walks over to the pram, looks at the girls and tells me yes they are well enough to have their needles. Ok then, I could be a Dr if thats all thats involved?? Another ten minute wait to see the nurse who spends most of the appointment telling me how her 2 kids were 2.5 years apart and how it was so hard and I've really got no idea what thats like. I simply nodded in disbelief and willed her to hurry up. I was tempted to pinch Little Miss in order for her to scream so we could make a speedy exit. Thankfully the needles got a scream going from both girls and we were able to exit, hastily.

Whisked both girls to the parents room to feed Little Miss... this involved locking Missy Moo in the play area with a bottle of flavoured milk and Hi-5 on the TV - yay for decent parents rooms occasionally! Got a bottle into Little Miss and went to move the girls from pram to trolley when a smell filled the room. I figured it was Little Miss so popped her up on the change table and stripped her off to find nothing, it was Missy Moo. Re-dressed Little Miss, strapped her into the pram and launched Missy Moo onto the change table. Well that smell was a poonami, all over her and her clothes. Her lovely clean clothes were now covered in mess, and of course I had nothing with me for her. It's been a while since she disgraced herself in public and it's the behaviour I would expect from my 4mo, not my 16mo. So I had no choice but to strip her off and go buy her some clothes. God I hate when that happens, and it seems to only happen at the end of a pay month when you're budgeted to your eyeballs and counting down the hours til payday. I had a lady in a clothes shop trying to sell me the most expensive outfits, when all I wanted was something to stop her flinging her naked legs out of the pram. It's almost like she was saying 'heyyyy you! look at me, I'm naked here!!'. Found some clothes, dressed her and up and into the trolley she and Little Miss went. We went off to do groceries, old ladies commented on how cute the girls were. I silently willed them to look past Missy Moo's non matching and horribly cheap and nasty ensemble and the pikelets she was shoving into her mouth. I wanted to assure them she WAS dressed decently when we left the house and yes I do feed her despite her eating like she's starving. And yes I will pay for said pikelets when I pay for the 55 million other things in my trolley. Don't look at me like I'm a shoplifter. The perfectionist in me was dying inside!!

Both girls had mild reactions to their needles, were unsettled and cranky, and ended up with a dose of panadol. Given the tantrums, poonami and bad moods, I'm glad I didn't take all 3 for needles by myself. Neither really slept much during the day, and Monkey Man returned from a big day out tired as well after no day sleep. Thank god Mum stayed for bathtime to give me a hand as I really did need it that night. And in hindsight maybe it wasn't a good idea to attempt 2x needles plus grocery shopping with the two girls in tow. I should have at least done the groceries online. Live and learn hey!

ETA: this was written on Thursday and I thought I had published it, clearly I didn't.

the saga of a santa photo

Today was Santa photo day. And we weren't the only ones with this idea. An hour and a half we queued for. How ridiculous is that?? I am still in denial that we did in fact queue for that long. I've never been much of a queuer and the odd time I have done it, there was alot of alcohol involved. I wish there was a sign like at theme parks, you know the ones at rides that say 'an hour wait from this point'. If we'd known we'd be waiting that long we would have turned around and tried again another day. Hubby took Monkey Man off to the play equipment and the girls and I joined the queue. Little Miss catnapped in the pram, like the perfect baby she is, nawwww. Missy Moo was ok til about half way through the line and then decided she wanted out of the pram. She was happy to be held or to stand at my feet, and have the occasional jibberish conversation with the toddler behind us in the queue. She was even waving and yelling 'santa' so I got my hopes up that she might be ok for the photo. Monkey Man ran in and out of the centre, wanting to see the baubles on the rockets (trees) and yell at the pirate (santa), all with hubby in close proximity. We finally get to the front of the queue, yay! Monkey Man runs up and climbs up, sitting perfectly waiting for his photo. We may or may not have promised milkshakes and pancakes AFTER the photo if he was a good boy. Missy Moo, well here is when she well and truly cracked it and was not sitting anywhere near Santa. Hubby made the quick call to get in the sleigh with Santa and Monkey Man, and I loaded Missy Moo and Monkey Man onto his lap, dropped Little Miss in Santa's arms and quickly moved out of shot. The photography assistant, santa's elf, whatever she was called, god bless her, she tried so hard. She blew bubbles, she tickled me (don't ask), she danced, she yelled, she tickled the kids legs with a puppet and no matter how hard she tried, none of the kids would smile. She did get a smile out of Monkey Man a couple of times, and even Little Miss but in those shots by husband looked rather 'special'. It's kinda ironic that it was harder to get a decent shot of my husband than it was of the kids?? I yelled, I made animal noises, I danced, I laughed and generally made a tool out of myself but nope, not a smile to be had. Once the kids decided enough was enough, they both started to climb down and even Little Miss looked like she was climbing down! Action stations to get the girls back in the pram and catch Monkey Man as he disappeared into the food court at a rapid pace. We went off for a food court brunch, the kids put banana bread, chocolate milkshake and chips all over their nice clothes but they were happy so who cares right? And after such a long wait they could have whatever they wanted. I still can't get over the fact that we waited that long???

Tomorrow we're having Monkey Man's mothers group here for christmas lunch. I am very disorganised at this stage but thats ok, it will all come together in the end. 8x 2 year olds running around here sounds like a busy afternoon! I love seeing these kids all together, it's been lovely seeing them grow up together and I can still see them all sitting on the lounge together or laying on the floor together, way before they were mobile terrors. Mental note: try to get a pic of them all together tomorrow... should be interesting.

I've been a bit slack with my blogging recently and do feel a bit guilty about that. We've been to a wedding, I've been out for my brothers birthday, took the kids to a wildlife park with my brother and sister in law, today I went to a body shop party... it just feels like life is very full on. I know it's the silly season and I should expect it but its just hectic, and sometimes a pause button would help. Hubby has survived solo bedtime with the kids two Saturdays in a row! It really is the most full on time in our household so kudos for him for surviving. My Mum I think it was, said to hubby 'so you're babysitting on Saturday evening?'. I was very VERY quick to point out he is parenting, not babysitting seeing they're his kids. I seriously hate it when Dads are referred to as the babysitters. ummm no, they're his kids so he is simply parenting, same as I do every day.

One of the Dads is dressing up as Santa tomorrow so expect more tears from Little Miss. *sigh*

a picture perfect christmas

I love christmas. I love decorating the tree, I love listening to carols and christmas inspired music, I love presents under the tree, wrapped prettily. I love to take the time to find wrapping paper and cards that don't have the word 'Merry' or snow on them, not a fan of either. I start thinking about gifts for my children way before I should. I love to spend christmas eve wrapping presents while watching Carols in the Domain. I hope to instill some traditions in my kids, and am already planning some for next year when they're a bit older. I love to buy them new PJs for christmas eve, and pretty outfits for Santa photos, christmas and boxing day and any other days we go to christmas type events.

The trouble is, I have a picture in my head of how Christmas is going to be and have done so ever since I became a Mum. The perfect tree, decorated by well behaved children who giggle and squeal with delight when certain decorations are pulled from the storage box. We nibble on home made delights while doing this task, photos are being taken, carols are playing and everyone looks perfect, clean and tidy and super cute. My house is spotless in the background of these photos and the kids talk about how much fun they had putting the tree up. All very hollywood movie, minus the snow.

My reality is however, very different. The tree went up with the assistance of two bounding, bouncing toddlers. They kept handing us stem after stem and it was an effort to keep up with them. Tinsel was strewn everywhere, wrapped around ankles and necks, baubles bounced across the room, glass ones put back in storage for another year, fights broke out because that silver bauble is different to my silver bauble. This was really just the beginning. I had to vaccuum the tree spot we created once we moved the furniture to its new temporary home. I couldn't get the blind back down after I raised it to vaccuum the window sil. I had to vaccuum again around the tree once it was upright as it's molting leaves. Might need a new one next year? Both kids were almost buried alive under the 6' tree at least twice, and this was before it was actually 6'. The kids didn't understand the whole 'hang the decoration' concept and kept shoving baubles and stars into the branches of the tree, and getting most distressed when they fell to the floor. Missy Moo sat and licked glitter off a star, and I'm still seeing glitter in her poo nearly 5 days later. Monkey Man wanted to be lifted to the top of the tree to shove more decorations in, and watch them bounce to the floor... 16kg weightlifting anyone? Once I'd put a bauble on the tree, one or both kids would then pull it off. We didn't nibble on home made delights, nor was there any music apart from the Thomas The Tank Engine theme music playing over and over as the 4 hour DVD had finished in the other room. There was no photos as I was either erecting the tree, decorating it or wrangling a toddler or two, or all of the above. Hubby gave up about 5 minutes into the process and decided to clean the garage at that exact time?? Little Miss sat in the bumbo and watched this comedic performance and smiled like mad, and then promptly threw up all over herself.

My beautiful tree is imprisoned behind a playpen to protect the kids from further glitter ingestion or pulling the tree down on top of themselves. Nothing whatsoever to do with protecting the tree from the kids, no not at all.

Was it picture perfect? Far from it, in fact it was slightly stressful at times. Will I always remember it? Abso-fcukin-lutely!!

It took some searching but I think I've found outfits for all 3 kids for the different days they need them. I'm still terrified to take them for Santa photos but screaming or not, there will be a Santa photo! Christmas here won't be picture perfect by a long shot, but we will enjoy the company of family and friends, a few presents, good food and a few drinks. My first in 3 years where I can eat, drink and be merry instead of early stages of pregnancy and battling with heat and food and drink I can't eat. I will wrap presents on christmas eve, and enjoy it. And I will count my blessings that this year means two toddlers to manage, next year there will be 3 to wrestle baubles from and cage out of my tree!! Remind me of this when they're causing havoc and I'm tearing my hair out. Next year will be 'interesting'.

I'm a terrible mother

according to my 2yo son, I am a terrible mother... really I am. My son should be called 'parrot' as pretty much everything hubby or I say, or anything within earshot, is repeated over and over again. Being a sarcastic person I find myself saying things like 'oh I know, I'm a terrible mother not letting you have cake or ice cream for dinner/breakfast/walking around with snot dribbling to your chin/not allowing you to climb onto the book shelf/jump from the kitchen table/making you lie still for a nappy change/making you put shoes on'.... Well, it's backfired hasn't it, as Monkey Man spent all day Thursday telling me, his sisters and his toys that 'mummy is a tebbible mother'. He also kept telling his sister and the neighbours dog 'to give it a rest'. The poor dog gets yelled at alot, and not just by my kids. If someone leaves eg Daddy, my Mum, friends, other kids, Monkey Man tells me and both his sisters, over and over AND over again that said person has 'gone to work'. Seems lots of people go to work! I hear him telling he's toys they are 'naughty boys and there's gonna be big trouble soon'.... Hmmm me thinks I really have to make an effort to think before I speak in his presence. He has hearing like a bat so can hear me from 3 rooms away, unless I'm telling him to stop hitting, pinching, punching, kicking, pushing or jumping on his sister. Then, he's deaf as a post. Spose it could be worse, I say alot worse than 'give it a rest'. . .

I explained to him last week, as the storm clouds rolled in, that the black clouds meant a big storm was coming. A storm did indeed hit and it was infact a big one! Now, every time the sun goes behind a cloud, a plane goes over or there is some form of big noise outside, or all of the above, I am informed that a 'big storm coming'. Seriously cute!

His Thomas the Tank Engine obsession is still in full flight, with him telling me many times a day how he 'neeeeeds thomas', and we have watched the same DVD's hundreds of times yet he seems surprised when something exciting happens or there is a new character on an episode. Meanwhile Missy Moo is happy to dance to the theme music. He also starts telling me he 'needs thomas, watching thomas' about 3 minutes into the second last episode on the DVD, appears he knows when its coming to an end. Oh, and just a small side note, I'd hate to know what the insurance premiums are on the Island of Sodor as there is an accident every 5 bloody minutes!! I wouldn't want to work there!

Next time you think you're having a bad mother day, just remind yourself it could be worse. You could be a 'terrible mother'.

have you ever...

Have you ever hung washing on the line at midnight? Have you ever done this because it saves time during the day and the weather is warm enough to dry it by lunchtime?
I just did. My household is all tucked up sleeping while I was outside hanging washing out. Oooh its an action packed Saturday night for me!! Pre kids however, I also used to do this although it was more for practicality purposes than anything else. Our previous house faced the sun in a way that meant the first morning and midday sun bore down on the line and then disappeared behind the house by 12.30 so afternoons, unless there was a hot wind, were useless for drying clothes. Plus sun dried clothes are so much nicer than tumble dried clothes. Standing in your backyard in the still of night is so peaceful, you hear animals, leaves rustling and the odd domestic from your neighbours. No judgement though, hubby and I have our fair share of those.

Have you ever bought clothing for your child or even yourself and thought about it all day, wondering did I get the right size? Bought Missy Moo some Xmas pjs today, super cute and in a size one. Been thinking ever since I should have got the two. I bought her a Xmas dress the other night, during a FB market event (OMG how addictive are they!!) and have been thinking I should have got the one instead of the two. It arrived today so tomorrow I might try both outfits on Missy Moo and see which I need to return/exchange/etc.
Have you ever thought about your life before kids and missed anything? Would you change anything? I wonder what we did with so much income? I wonder how we slept til 9am on a Saturday or Sunday. I wonder how we went to 7 weddings in a year, along with associated hens & stag nights, kitchen teas etc without dropping. I wonder why we didn't clear debts, no matter how big or small, before we dropped to one income. Would I change anything in regards to these thoughts? Probably not, I'm not a huge believer in regrets. We loved our life pre kids and now post kids, well it's evolved to a new level but we love it too. I went to my work on Friday and on the way there I questioned whether I missed working? An hour in the city and I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that stuff anymore. People just seem stressed, although a man did help me with the pram which does not happen out here. Don't get me wrong, I've never been busier but I do feel like I'm achieving something more worthwhile now.

Have you ever shed a tear over something stupid like a toilet paper ad, or a birth scene (fake) on a TV show? And no matter how much you try, you can't stop the tears. Or cried over something serious like the loss of innocent life? I cried so many times yesterday hearing about a fire at a nursing home near my place. And it turns out it's suspicious circumstances with a staff member arrested and charged. How messed up do you have to be to set fire to a place where hundreds of invalid or immobile old people are sleeping? Mental illness or not, what a scumbag.

Have you ever sat still and listened to a toddler? My 2yo Monkey Man speaks pretty clearly, and its getting clearer everyday. Everyday he amazes me with the things he comes out with, especially things that are clearly developing right before my eyes. Counting for instance. I say a number and he says the one after! Genius!! He does have a penchant for 1,2,9,10 when doing it on his own but its a work in progress. My 1yo Missy Moo says quite a few words but she does alot of her communication non-verbally. You turn away and can miss a shake or nod of the head and its on. Makes for interesting times when I'm driving with her in the backseat! hahaha!

Have you ever . . .

Just a girl

Over the last week or so I've been cranky, irritable, ravenous and short tempered - not in that particular order. I didn't realise why until a day or so ago when I suffered from cramps and the never ending desire to eat chocolate. No, I'm not pregnant (thank the heavens!) but I am getting my period. Aunt Flo, the red witch, decorators... Whatever you call it, it's an inconvenience I could do without. Considering I've barely had any over the last 3 years, well I'd pretty much forgotten about it and I didn't miss it!! Seriously it sux being a girl sometimes. We have to do the pregnancy part, the swollen belly and cankles to match, non stop peeing, then the delivery and endure a monthly inconvenience as well?? Plus the total indignity of post birth hair loss which I have to thank for the layer of fuzz I'm currently sporting. Boo hiss!! Not fair!! Although then again, I spose those first flutters you feel, then the solid movements and kicks etc do make up for it a little *wink*.

Yep, being a girl does bite the big one occasionally. While I eat a family block of Pineapple chocolate and wallow in self pity, I realise I now have two daughters!?!? OMG! Can you imagine our house around that time of the month when the time comes? I should stock up on chocolate, pain killers and hot water bottles now!! My toddlers are eating me out of home as it is - both just ate 3 whole pieces of toast each (think I might need to worm them). God help my grocery bill by the time all three are teenagers - can you buy shares in cadbury?? So three women under the same roof with PMS... hmmm shall be interesting. I can see hubby and monkey man taking up a hobby such as fishing and disappearing once a month!!

Mind you two daughters also means lots of shopping, and girly hair things and bags and shoes (oh my!!), provided of course they are anything like me. How exciting! Two daughters possibly means dance lessons and netball on weekends and the whole you're too young to shave your legs/pluck your eyebrows/colour your hair/no you can't perm or chemically straighten your hair conversations. Two daughters means worrying incessantly about what they're upto, who they're with, are they safe - well this applys to all 3 kids but you get what I mean. Will they be bossy and organised like me? Will they be smart or totally chilled and not really bothered by much? And who knows, I might be lucky enough to be around when my kids become parents themselves, and have all these hopes and fears too.

The joys of being a girl and a mummy... Oh god I think I'm out of chocolate???

3x sleeping children

My 3 children are all sleeping right now, in the middle of the day. They all went down at pretty much the same time so fingers crossed for a decent sleep out of all of them. I can't tell you the last time this happened. Don't get me wrong, I often have them sleeping at once during the day but they usually overlap or tag team their sleeps on me so most days I get about 10-15 mins to myself. Today, I have a break, and to be honest I don't know what to do with myself. I'll grab some lunch but then what? The washing is on the line, the house needs cleaning but its too hot and I refuse out of principle!!... I have some trash TV on IQ that I might watch - love me some trash TV and often end up deleting it as I don't get time to actually watch it. So yes, stuff the housework (am sure I will regret this later in the week), I'm off to have a sandwich and some TV time xo

I didn't publish this blog for some reason, possibly due to a screaming child demanding my attention but funnily enough, I jinxed myself by writing this blog. The next day I had tag teaming children who slept at different times or not at all. Missy Moo had an hour and a half but was up from 4.45am so by 3pm she hit the wall and was uber cranky. Little Miss decided it was cat nap day and slept no longer than 40 minutes at a time and was so overtired and hysterical she pretty much screamed through the kids dinner time, then bath and bed time. Getting her down for the night was hard work! Monkey Man, well he's pretty chilled these days and did sleep, however it was in between his sisters sleeps so at around 2pm I had him yelling at me that he was 'done' with sleeping and Little Miss screaming the place down. Needless to say when hubby walked in (early) at 6.40pm I handed the kids over and walked out. Came downstairs and checked my emails with the door to the study shut... I could still hear Missy Moo yelling mummy over and over but I had to ignore it as I too hit the wall. Everyone has their limits, and yesterday put mine to the test.

Oh hum, today is a new day! I will get two loads of washing folded and put away and I will cook dinner, maybe even dinner for tomorrow night as well and as a result, feel much better about my ability as a stay at home mum. Yes today I will achieve something, even if I have to do it with a toddler wrapped around a leg each and a baby in a sling.

poor puddy tat

This afternoon we found a cat in our backyard. At first my hubby tried to shoo it away but I very quickly saw that it wasn't well, and wasn't going any where. The poor thing looked to be in a bad way. It was lying in the hedges, almost under the back deck and I kept having flashbacks to my childhood when a cat went under my nan and pops house and died, and oh my lord the smell was horrendous!! My toddlers were so excited at this cat being so close, they were jumping and squealing and the cat still didn't run away. Clearly it wasn't well. Hubby got a towel and fished it out of the hedges, checked for a collar (none) and wrapped it up so as not to scratch him, which in hindsight was not necessary as the poor thing wasn't moving much at all, while I called for help. We rang a local animal hospital who told us to bring it straight in. Mind you they did ask me some questions and not being a cat person I had no idea how to answer some of them; 'is it an old cat or a young cat?' ummmm it's a cat, it's black and white?? I don't know! It's not a kitten, does that help?? They also pointed out that we wouldn't have to pay anything for the treatment as its a lost or stray animal in need of medical treatment. Ok, interesting they felt they needed to point that out. Hubby and I did a quick game of rock paper scissors to see who would stay and who would go. Hubby went and I stayed, not sure who you'd say won really??

Both our toddlers were very distressed at seeing the cat being taken away in a box and the worry turned to hysteria when I said 'Daddy was taking the cat to the hospital'. Maybe they thought another baby would come back with Daddy?? It's a logical conclusion really seeing as during their short lifespan the only time anyone has gone to hospital they've come back with another baby?? I then had to say the cat was going to the doctor and this seemed to be an ok thing to say. I'm glad my kids aren't scared of doctors, although thats perhaps a reflection of how much time we spend at the doctors. We went upstairs for an early bathtime and I even put Chicken Little on the TV in our room as a treat afterwards. The cat was soon forgotten.

The cat had no microchip so no way of knowing where it came from and the vet said it most likely had a tick. It was gasping for air by the time hubby got it to the vet and they did say they would most likely euthanise it. Poor puddy tat, what a sucky way to go. I hope there isn't a family out there looking for their cat. And if they are, I wonder if they regret the decision not to microchip it. We're not cat people and if/when we get a pet it will be a dog but I think the three kids are enough work at the moment. Plus seeing how the kids reacted to something going wrong with a stray animal, plus Ivy's reaction last time she saw a dog, well a pet is a long way off for this family. But I do take it as a compliment that this cat chose our house to spend its final hours at. Poor puddy tat.

its getting hot in here

It's not even Summer yet and it's getting very hot here. Both my active toddlers are constantly clammy with sweat and their hair is often plastered to their heads as they run, run and run some more. Today is forecast to be particularily hot so I thought we'd kill two birds with one stone and go shopping. We have a birthday party on Saturday that I needed to get a gift for and I wanted to check out the xmas PJs and clothes in Big W. And I spose I should start some xmas shopping. So off we went. The kids were really well behaved, and sat quietly in the pram. For about ten mins. Then it was on. Both toddlers took turns yelling at me, shouting, kicking and bouncing the pram. Whilst ever the pram is moving they're ok, once we stop well the fun begins! Little Miss was strapped to me in the baby bjorn and rather than sleep she decided to look out at the world. We ran into a friend from school who's got two weeks to go until her second baby arrives and she looks amazing. Poster girl for pregnancy. I want to stab her in the eye! hahaha Got a few bits in Target and headed to the foodcourt to load the kids up on milkshake and donuts, all an attempt to buy me another half an hour of shopping time. All was going well until Little Miss wide awake decided it was food time. So I had to feed her in the food court while passing donuts to the kids. Monkey Man dropped his Percy and started screaming. I had no choice but to ask a passer buy for assistance to retrieve his train. Thankfully she obliged but then stayed for a ten min chat bout how I've got my hands full and her kids were this age and these genders and blah blah blah. I'm used to it now but it does make me laugh how suddenly people tell me their whole life story. I think I've got a face for it as its happened all my life. If there is a crazy person in close proximity to me, they always manage to hunt me down and chat away. Anyway, once everyone was fed we did a few more things and headed home. All 3 were asleep by the time we did the ten minute drive home and if I hadn't needed petrol I would have gone on a long drive so they could stay sleeping. Thankfully all 3 transfer from car to bed quite well so I now have some quiet time. It will be the only quiet time for the rest of the day so I'm enjoying it.

I didn't manage to get the birthday present, and I bought only one xmas present so overall it wasnt a big success but it was nice to get out of the house for a bit. And seeing Missy Moo with cinnamon donut all over her face was quite entertaining.

30 mins later and Monkey Man is yelling at me. Me thinks my quiet time is over for the day which means its gonna be a looooong afternoon!

today was 'no sleep day'... wish someone had forewarned me

Today, none of my children would sleep. I'm hoping it wasn't due to heat as summer hasn't officially begun yet and it's obviously gonna get hotter, but yeah all 3 were awake pretty much all day. FUN! Apparantly there was a memo sent to all parents but I missed it. Little Miss was awake from 8ish this morning til well into the afternoon, cranky as all hell and only a poonami from head to toe seemed to relieve the situation. Missy Moo was falling asleep in her high chair at 10 this morning and crashed when I put her down at 11. I think she was woken up by the crying baby though and after an hours sleep she was awake, cranky and shirty with life and everyone in her path. Monkey Man, well he will tell me for hours he's not tired and needs 'no sleep' but generally crashes once put into bed. Today he told me he was ready for bed, and then proceeded to play in his cot for an hour, with no actual sleeping being done. Ironically both he and Missy Moo wanted up at the same time, and screamed blue murder until I got them up. Monkey Man then jumped on his chest of drawers, cracking the top of them, while I was trying to put his shoes on him. Yay, another expense to add to the ever growing pile that ironically seems to be worse at this time of year. Where is my festive spirit hiding this year???

By 1pm I was totally over today, and counting down the minutes til 7pm when today could be over and we could start again tomorrow. I tried to have a nanna nap on the lounge and copped trains, cars, phones and fingers in the face plus tag teaming toddlers pressing their face into mine. Sleep was abandoned. By late this afternoon I decided we should brave the heat, having spent most of the day inside in the air conditioned bliss, and try to exhaust them with water table and paddling pool fun. Next thing I hear a big crash and the baby gate has been ripped down by the toddlers... A serious attempt to escape from cranky Mummy?? Whatever the reason, we abandoned outside play plans and in the car they went. Off to Ronald's house so they could trash his joint rather than mine as if I have to vaccuum once more today, I'm going to scream... Happy meals all round, followed by icecream which was pretty much demanded the second the golden arches were in sight. And as a sidenote, is it still 14 and 9 mths you can get a job? How young do the 12 year old's working at maccas these days look?? Surely if they're 12 they should be at school and not working? Anyway, I digress...2x happy toddlers with grease and ice cream everywhere, half an hour of peace for me, so worth every bloody cent. Listening to other parents explain that no, we don't eat icecream first, that if the dinner wasn't eaten we'd go home without icecream, that the toy from their happy meal would go in the bin if they didn't behave.... well it was music to my ears to be truthful. Some might find it a stressful environment. I think, to put my kids in that environment with their own kind, well it made it easier to handle and made me realise I'm not alone. Other kids are like mine and other parents are like me. Sometimes you just need to know you're not alone on your journey, sometimes you just need to see someone elses child have a full body throw down tanty to feel so much better about your own... and sometimes you need your husband to come home early and put the kids to bed while you pass out on your own bed. Mind you I woke at 8.30pm, in the same position I'd gone to sleep in, fully dressed and quite confused as to how I got there seeing as the last thing I remember was tickling my kids before they went to bed?? The phone rang next to my head, I heard nothing. Clearly I was/am tired and on that note, I'm off to bed for hopefully a decent nights sleep - stopping on the way for cuddles with Little Miss of course.

santa claus is coming to town..... fark!!

So, it's November. How the hell is it November already?? It's ok though, I've bought one present! And it's for the youngest child who won't have a clue whats going on. Oh dear, time to panic, although I refuse to panic buy. I will use my trusty friend, internet shopping, to get me through. It's more the what to buy for who, and can I buy it in time (gotta love monthly pay!!) thats stressing me out.... Monkey Man is having a Thomas kinda xmas this year as his obsession has intensified, he wants to sleep with trains, take them in the bath, to the table and wakes up in the middle of the night talking about Thomas. A friend gave me some 'wooden railway' stuff that her son has outgrown and the face on Monkey Man when I showed it to him today, well it was totally worth it and cemented my suspicions that he'd love it. He played trains for hours, was happy in his own world. Meanwhile Missy Moo and I spent a couple of hours playing Little People and dancing to various songs that came on TV. She loves one on one attention. What to buy for her? Well someone suggested a dolly and pram and while I am considering it, I'm worried that Monkey Man will take it and make it his train carrier?? Not bothered about buying her a gender specific present (for any of my kids actually), its just she's not really into anything much (yet). She loves music and dancing, Fisher Price Little People (we have loads!), annnnd whatever Monkey Man is playing with, oh and smacking Little Miss around. Poor baby has had to toughen up pretty quick! I thought today I might make a dress up kit for all 3 of them, with various hats, costumes, wands, drs kit, wings, etc etc. That would be a good pressie I spose?
Monkey Man will get a train table, just where from I'm not 100% yet. Little Miss has a Sophie the Giraffe teether winging its way here as we speak - I swore I'd never buy one of these, stupidly over priced teethers but it was on sale and I figured it might be nice for her to have a teether all of her own that hasn't been through two lots of teething already. Poor kid gets alot of hand me downs as it is. The least I can do is buy her a giraffe. And Missy Moo, well something will come to me. It has to.

So far on the list (x3): hooded beach/pool towels, bath towels, aprons and art smocks, xmas PJs, a stocking full of little things (books, trains, bath toys and bubble bath squeezies, rubber ducks for the bath - last lot went mouldy and are now in toy heaven, a t-shirt or outfit for xmas day, some choc coins/custard for Little Miss etc etc) and this is pretty much where I stall!!

And speaking of xmas, my kids will be having a photo taken with Santa this year. It's a tradition I intend to uphold for as long as the kids will co-operate, or live with me! And actually even if they cry there will still be a Santa photo. Aren't I terrible?? I figure its a memory to look back on and laugh if they're crying or sigh nostalgically at how cute and small they were. My Mum told me last night she doesn't have Santa photos of me as I hated Santa and refused to go near him. Attitude from a young age. Hmmm and I wonder where my children, particularily Missy Moo get it from??? It sux I don't have any Santa photos, how freaking rude!! Missy Moo is not gonna like Santa, I can pretty much bet money on that. She's not good with strangers, very stand offish and pretty much only warms to you once you've been around for a few hours. And if hubby or I are there, well it'll be a extra long few hours as she clings to us. I'm betting I end up in the Santa pic, so best make sure I've got my smiley face on that day. I'm a bit vain when it comes to photos... is it wrong to choose the Santa photo that I look good in but the kids look shocking?? Seriously?

weigh in day

Today was weigh in day... I was not feeling confident, and really I never am, but I also know that a blow out tends to take 2 weeks to catch up with you. So I weighed in with a heavy heart and found I'd only lost .2kg this week, which is a loss all the same so I'll take it. At least it wasn't a gain. I started to feel a little down about only losing 200g but then realised in the 6 weeks since joining WW I've lost 8kg so I should feel pretty damn proud. And in the 3 months since my baby was born, I've lost 18kg. Alot went in the form of a 4kg baby and all the stuff that accompanied her but still, that's huge! Thats the most weight I've ever lost, and whilst I have a long way to go, I am taking a moment to celebrate this little milestone. I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn for 3+ years/babies, I'm finding some things are way too big and are now at the back of the wardrobe. I'm feeling and looking better, and I'm inspired to keep going. I do have a long way to go so lets not get too carried away but yes, one must celebrate!

My husband stayed home today for his first day alone with all 3 kids, all day. A milestone for him. I went on a first aid course so its not like I was off shopping to celebrate my weight loss or enjoying a day of freedom. I last did my first aid certificate in 2009 which was pre children (although I was pregnant) so it was interesting to do it now that I am a mum, and practice CPR on infant and child size dolls... certainly gets you thinking about what would I do, would I know what to do in the case of an emergency, especially if one of my children was involved? It's one of those situations where you don't know how you will react until you're in it, living it and terrified. Adrenalin is so powerful, and it really does take over. Last week a friends 6mth old baby got locked in a bedroom, we don't know how but it happened and I stayed calm. I was trying to keep my kids calm, babys mum calm and myself calm and I think because I knew if we couldn't get him out the fire brigade would, that I was calm. And yes, we got him out through the window. Yet a few years ago my husband had an accident at home, and finding him floating in the pool, face down, blue as a smurf is an image I will never ever forget. I knew what to do yet I fell to pieces. And if it wasn't for his best mate helping me get him out of the pool and doing CPR on him, he wouldn't be here today. I was hysterical, that banchee woman you see on TV, that was me. His mate told me to pull myself together and help him. Emergency situations are horrible and you just don't know how you will cope until you're faced with one yourself. Hopefully armed with knowledge I will react in the appropriate manner and be able to save my kids (or anyone elses) should the need arise.

And yes, my hubby survived his first day solo, even though he called his best mate and fiance over to help. Cheater!! The kids were happy, fed, changed, entertained etc and whilst I had no doubt (ok, maybe just a tiny bit) it was nice to see they could cope without me for a day. Who knows, maybe I will go off on a day shopping sometime soon? Maybe I could start our xmas shopping?? GAH!!

busy morning

This morning between 7 & 8am I copped it, well and truly copped it. Little Miss, my almost 3mth old, has puked all over me, all down my pants, my top and saved the biggest deposit for my bra. I'm so glad I had a shower this morning!?! She's blowing snot the size of a 5c coin. Annnnd she just cleared the room with the smelliest, biggest poonami she's done in her 3mths earthside. Considering she only went last night, when we were out in public without the nappy bag (long story!), well I've gotta wonder how something so small can make such big messes!?? 3 children later and I'm still asking this question. And I'm still amazed how much comes out of such little people!!

Given I'll soon be attempting the toilet training path, spose I should just suck it up and accept my fate re me and poo. And be grateful my kids 'slept in' this morning til 6am. Yep 6am is a sleep in and the cause of much celebration around here. Considering buying Monkey Man one of those grow clocks as I've read they help with early wakers. Frankly I'm not convinced anything will help here??

all I want for xmas

All I want for Xmas this year is a DSLR camera. I'm a simple girl really, with simple (sort of) tastes... Ok so it won't be cheap but if I really really want it, surely that makes it ok? I don't want a professional super dooper expensive one, just one to get me started. I take loads of pics of my kids on the trusty point and shoot camera but I really want to learn how to take proper photos on a proper camera. Plus I figure I better get as many shots of the kids as possible before they get older and tell me to bugger off with my camera! I'm working on a photowall for our house and what's been done so far looks really good. I just need to get some more photos printed. Thats the thing with the digital age though, we take thousands of photos, delete hundreds yet probably print a dozen or so? If my house was on fire I'd grab my children, of course, and then my photos. And yes I have an external hard drive full of photos as well as a folder of back-ups on cd (learnt my lesson after my laptop died!!). This is all strategically placed so I can grab it and run. Am I the only one that thinks like this??

In our parents time they didn't have the luxury of digital photos, and whatever photos they took they printed out and framed or stuck in dodgy albums. I'm old enough to remember the old way, and the excitement of picking up prints. Wondering if there was any good shots or even wondering what was on the film in the first place as its been sat waiting to be printed for how long?? I still prefer the digital option though where I can delete horrid double chin shots or edit out red eyes, both I do alot!! Heck I even use technology to scan/photograph my children's artistic creations and capture them for future tormenting (can't wait to show potential partners the 'cow' my child drew at 2yo) and memory sake (mine, *sigh*).

Someone once told me never to delete photos of your kids as you can edit, crop, paste, layer them etc and something that looks odd now might be the perfect size, look, shade etc for some photo compilation you make in the future. I try very hard to capture my children on 'film' so I can remember how they were. My own baby photo album has alot more photos than my younger brothers does, and I spose thats due to my Mum not having the time and/or the funds to print all she took. That was the time I grew up in. The digital age grants me more freedom in that respect, plus I have a thing about equality and do all I can to take equal numbers of photos of my three kids. I have issues re equality but won't go into that here! It's hard to be equal though when trying to take pics of my youngest, I mean just how many photos can you take of a sleeping baby?? Haha! The digital age means places like facebook and blogs serve as online baby books. And while I have proper baby books here for my 3, I am going to have to refer back to my digital entries to fill them in. What counts is that I've written everything down... somewhere?!! I've loved looking at my baby book, more so now I have babies myself and while I think this keepsake stuff is more important to women, I'm still doing it all for my son. Looking at photos of me as a baby, I still don't see any of myself physically in my children despite what others say. It appears the genes from my husbands side are much stronger than
mine. Dammit!

So Santa if you're listening, please bring me a nice shiny DSLR camera for Christmas. I've been a good girl. I'm doing my best to be a good mummy, I'm not naughty (ok sometimes), I try to do my bit for others... plus lets be honest, you've forgotten me the last couple of years so I reckon you owe me. Actually come to think of it, your pal the Birthday Barbie and Anniversary Annie have forgotten me too so let's say the camera is a big IOU/joint present from all of you. Ok? Throw in Michael Buble's Christmas album and we'll call it quits. Cheers!

blaming it on the boogie

On Saturday night I went to a hens night. It was my first night out in a few years and I had a great time! We went local, to a pub I used to venture to in my youth - and back then it was full of pretentious idiots that used to stand around posing at each other. On a night out all I want to do is have a few drinks, a few laughs and a good dance. Well Saturday was just that, and the crowd was alot more varied in age than it used to be, alot less posers and more people with a similar party attitude to mine. Although there was a hair straightener and phone chargers for hire in the loos?? Just how long has it been since I went out?? I did well though, I stayed out and danced til 2am. It was about that time when the surroundings made me realise yes I am old, yes it's been a while and no, I don't wanna snog some random bloke in the middle of the dance floor just for kicks and giggles. And thankgod I wore flats as I am too old and out of practice to dance all night in heels anymore. Yes, I'm ready to go home now, to my king size bed with my snoring husband and 3 beautiful babies sleeping peacefully, all waiting for me. I want to go back to my reality now and look forward to the wedding in a months time, where we will have our first night away from the kids, ever! Now if only I could find something to wear??

Come Sunday, I was so thankful and proud of myself for not getting totally blind as Missy Moo whinged all day long. I suspect more teeth are coming, or maybe another ear infection? Gawd no! Monkey Man has his 2yo molars giving him grief as he's constantly shoving his whole hand in his mouth. This morning he told me his teeth hurt so there must be something happening there. The joys of teething.

Can't believe it's 8 wks or something ridiculous like that til Xmas. Haven't bought a single gift, and am feeling very 'head in the sand' about the whole thing. Really must pull my finger out, just not today when I'm still tired and have a massive sinus headache, which turned into a migraine from hell. Is it possible to get a hangover two days later?? You would have laughed seeing my place today around lunchtime. All the blinds were shut, the kids had some stupid show on the TV but it was turned down low and I pretty much lay on the lounge suffering. I willed the kids to be quiet or to go away, or the pain in my head to go away, whichever was quickest!! Thankfully its now back to a dull ache and after I've fed Little Miss I'm hoping to sleep the rest off.

afternoon delight

Tonight's bathtime was a shocker and considering how tired I am already, well bed with no dinner is an appealing option right now. Little Miss was screaming and carrying on from about 4.30 onwards. No matter what I try, she just doesn't seem to want to sleep in the late afternoon. I shouldn't complain as come 6.30pm she goes down without a fuss, and if she was happy to be awake all afternoon it would be fine. However she screams blue murder as she's clearly tired, this in turn sets Missy Moo off who's a rather sensitive soul and then Monkey Man joins in because he's upset that the girls are sad, or he just wants to cry louder than they can or just wants to join in? whatever the reason, I seriously dislike late afternoons here!

So all 3 are crying in unison or taking turns for more than an hour. Dinner is a battle with the toddlers at the best of times, tonights choice of 2 min noodles is being flung everywhere while I yell at them to stop it and bounce Little Miss in the vibrating chair, in an effort to quieten her down. Oh what my neighbours must think. Leaving a sea of noodles and toys everywhere we head upstairs for bath and bed. Little Miss is still carrying on. Monkey Man and Missy Moo are running and slamming themselves into the mirrored wardrobe doors and there is tears just as I say 'one of you is going to get hurt if you carry on doing that'. Manage to get all 3 in the bath and things quieten down. I'm feeling quiet proud of myself for not having a nervous breakdown yet and telling myself over and over that there's 45 mins til bedtime, all will be ok...  Get Little Miss out, she starts crying again as she's so tired by this stage she's bordering on hysterical. Missy Moo is standing in the bath AGAIN and I'm telling her to sit down AGAIN - this happens every bathtime and usually multiple times. We have a inflatable bumper around the bath to prevent injury but still, its slippery in there and I'm always worried they will hurt themsleves. I tell her to sit down for what felt like the 55th time and bang, she slips over and smacks her chin on the side of the bath - missing the bumper altogether. She's screaming, Little Miss who's naked on the change table is screaming and I'm telling Missy Moo that she's ok. I saw her hit the bath and assumed she was crying more out of shock than injury as she didn't hit that hard.. After wrapping Little Miss up in a towel to try and calm her down for a minute, I turn around to actually look at Missy Moo who's still screaming and blood is pouring down her chin. Yay me! Mother of the year!! I think she's bitten the inside of her mouth when she's connected with the bath. Nothing major but a fair amount of blood. Bundle her into a towel, give her a (magic) dummy and lay her in the vibrating chair so I can dress Little Miss. Swap them over and get Missy Moo dressed, and then argue with Monkey Man about getting out of the bath. Give him 3 chances to get out now or else wait til I've given Little Miss her bottle and put her to bed, he ignores me so he stays in the bath. Head to the bedroom next to the bathroom, start feeding Little Miss, telling Missy Moo to come out of the bathroom over and over again - she slips over in there, cries and yet goes back for more, nearly every bloody night. Monkey Man is chatting away to himself in the bath, occasionally telling me about number 5 or the colour blue or Thomas and Percy - he's 2 remember!! Little Miss is almost finished her bottle, Missy Moo is sitting by my feet drinking her milk and staring at herself in the mirror. All is calm, and bedtime is oh so close, I can taste it!!

Then I hear a cute little voice from the bathroom say the following:
'there goes poo'
'poo is running away'
'come back poo'
'oh no'

my heart stops

"Monkey, did you poo in the bath?"
'yes mummy' and promptly starts to cry (I think he was sad his poo was uncatchable?!?!)

oh shit!! leap to my feet and rush into the bathroom. The floor is soaking thanks to Monkey Man's games, Missy Moo slips over straight away and is screaming, Little Miss is screaming in the vibrating chair as I cut her feed off before she was ready and she hasn't been burped. Seriously. Kill.Me.Now!!

There's too much poo to scoop out so I pull the plug after depositing Missy Moo back outside the bathroom, on the carpet where she can't slip over but is crying anyway. Haul Monkey Man out of the poo filled bath and order him to stand still so I can dry the floor with a towel before anyone else slips over. Hose the poo down the plug hole while rocking the vibrating chair in an effort to quieten Little Miss down. Dress Monkey Man who's telling me all about his poo, meanwhile Missy Moo is emptying the change table contents onto the bathroom floor. Quickly burp Little Miss and pop her into bed. Come back to my room to toys strewn from one end of the other and watch, almost in slow motion as a giant Thomas train gets launched straight at Missy Moo's head. More screaming from both of them (again, my poor neighbours). I've had it now, its bedtime anyway but they're going whether they like it or not. All 3 in bed by 6.50pm and holy crap, if I wasn't tired before, I'm totally exhausted now...

Tell me others have it this bad??

How do mummas function on so little sleep??

I am so tired, I don't know how I'm functioning right now. Over the last few years I've either been pregnant, breast feeding, night feeding or dealing with baby/toddler illness/issues that stop my babies sleeping at night. Both Monkey Man and Missy Moo have gotten the whole sleep through the night thing at about 11months. I wasn't blessed with one of those perfect babies that slept through the night from birth - oh how I hate hearing that from people!! Unfortunately by the time my two worked out how to sleep through, I was about to have another baby so this development didn't mean much more sleep for me. I'm lucky to have a husband who's done alot of night shifts feeding, patting, sshhhing, and pacing the halls, I know many women aren't as lucky. I've said it before but I don't know how single parents manage by themselves 24/7 without losing the plot. I am now dealing with two toddlers who seem to wake everyday by about 4am. Seriously. It was 5, which was hard enough to deal with but 4 is just downright evil. Ironically I have to wake the baby at 7. Words I never thought I'd hear myself say. And if anyone's listening, why has it taken til #3 to get a sleeper??

Anyway, so when Monkey Man woke at 5.40 this morning, I felt like celebrating especially as my hubby is away and its just me and the kids. Again, words I never thought I'd hear myself say but hey, it's alot better than 4am! On the very odd occasion they've slept til 7 or 8 we've questioned if they're ok? Its very strange to wake up of your own accord after so long, and not due to a screaming/crying baby, almost an out of body experience! haha It's times like this I wish I drank coffee, or red bull or anything with caffeine really. I really need it, and sleep. Sleep would be preferred.

I am used to functioning on very little sleep but I feel it is finally catching up with me. Yesterday morning I snuck in a nanna nap on the lounge while the kids played around me. Not really sure how considering I copped various toys to the head, and whether it was worth it seeing I woke to find Monkey Man on a chair at the sink 'washing up'. He and the majority of the kitchen, including his sister were covered in water. Why he did this, I don't know, he's never done it unsupervised before? But then again he's never emptied a pack of wipes all over the floor before, or ripped open a present not meant for him before. Why he had to do both of these as I'm trying to get him, his sisters and my un-make-up'd self out the door I'll never know. I'm pretty good at doing the bare minimum make up while driving but its much nicer to do it at home, in peace!! I think it's safe to say we've hit the terrible twos with gusto and I should probably be grateful that it really hasn't started til 27 months.

What a lovely day for a double christening

My two girls were christened on Sunday and it was a lovely day. It was totally chaotic, but beautiful. The sun shone, not a single cloud was in the sky and it was really warm. A degree or two too hot for me but I've never been a massive fan of scorching heat. The church service was lovely, not too OTT with the religious stuff as its not everyones taste, and the minister was nice and relaxed when toddlers started running all over the place. My two joined in of course which was funny considering Missy Moo was meant to be the star of the show. The day was pretty hectic, with 3 kids to worry about plus a houseful of people who all arrived back from the church at the same time as I was trying to unload the car.... eftpos didn't work at the local red rooster so our lunch was held to ransom until hubby found an ATM. A couple of minor hiccups on an otherwise great day. Everyone chipped in and helped in some way shape or form which I am eternally grateful for. A friend changed Monkey Man into cooler clothes for me, family got the nibblies out while everyone milled around waiting for lunch - thank gawd I decided at the last minute to do some starters. Friends took turns holding Little Miss who didn't seem to want to sleep but was happy enough awake. The kids all splashed and ran around in the paddling pool, it was so hot! A fairy came and did face painting and bubbles and games and dancing so the kids were well and truly happy. Although there was tantrums galore from the toddlers who missed a day sleep due to the church service being in the middle of the day. Monkey Man partied hard, had no day sleep and collapsed in a heap just before 5pm, passing out in the loungeroom with half a dozen people talking over him. There he stayed for a good hour before we put him to bed and he slept 12 hours solid!! We now have a heap of presents to open (won't do that in front of Monkey Man as he won't understand why there is nothing for him) and a fridge and pantry full of cake, lollipops, lollies, cupcakes, soft cheeses, etc etc and all of it is calling my name. I predict a gain at WW this weekend!!!

I heart my ducted air

The warmer weather this week has been beautiful. We ran our air con today from about 11am for the first time since we moved here in March. We've had it on for short times but today was the longest by far and coming from a older house with no ducted air, can I say how much I heart my air con!! I know I will not enjoy the electricity bill when it comes but hey, you do what you gotta do to get through.

Little Miss appears to already have an aversion to heat, refusing to sleep for most of yesterday and the only decent sleep she had was once the air was on?? She wouldn't sleep this morning while we were out and about and I have a sneaky feeling that was due to being in the capsule. All 3 of my kids have started to crack it in the capsule once it gets warmer which was one of the main reasons I only hired one for 4 months this time. Last time I'd paid for 6 months and it sat in my Mum's garage for nearly 3 of those. At the end of November, if not before, we will buy Missy Moo a new seat and move her into that, moving Little Miss into the rear facing seat we have. That seat has been great value for money, having served all 3 of my kids. It will last Little Miss until she's too big for it and then the poor back seat of our car will have 3 big seats on it. The price you pay for having 3 kids so close together. I can see us lasting with our current car for another 18mths-2 years and then it will be time to upgrade to a 7 seater. And I will not be buying a bus!! A 7 seater 4WD will do me nicely thankyou very much. Best tell hubby to earn some more money then hey! hahaha

And what do you do with old car seats anyway? They have a 10 year life span, this one will have served 3, maybe 3.5 at a push? What do you do with them??

Somehow I/we have to set this house up tomorrow for a bucket load of people on Sunday, with two 'helper' toddlers underfoot. I can see hubby and I up til midnight tomorrow night trying to get it all done. And then fighting the toddlers to keep it tidy on Sunday morning. Should be interesting.

One of my best friends is arriving from interstate tomorrow for the christening, and a girly catch up of course! Last time we saw each other I was heavily pregnant with Missy Moo, and this time she's pregnant. Funny how it works out. One day in the not too distant future we will be together and be able to have a few drinks. We flat shared in London years ago and oh the stories I could tell you... How we didn't end up with alcohol poisoning is beyond me.

Weighed in this morning and lost another .7kg, so 5.8kg in a month which I'm really happy about. I'm starting to notice a difference in my clothes which to me is the best reward and motivator... Really hoping I can keep it up although Sunday I am planning to enjoy myself and forget about points, just for one day.

balls

Monkey Man had a moment this morning, a moment that was pure hilarity and if I don't write it down I'm sure I will forget.

I was changing his crappy nappy and he was wriggling around so much, chatting away non-stop about Percy, Thomas and friends. In a sheer moment of exasperation I told him to 'lie still so I can get the poo off your balls'... he lay still. There was also silence for about 30 seconds before he burst out with 'my balls, my balls' and soon he was saying it over and over again, practically singing it. We went back to the living area and he then spent the next hour or so running around saying 'my balls, my balls' over and over and added in the occasional 'mummy clean Percy's balls'.

Oh dear god. Please forget these words by Sunday son, we're going to church. And if not, lets say Daddy taught you that.

highlight of the week... So far

So far it's been an interesting week. Really good weather has helped alot, the kids have been out on the grass and in the sun. I kinda dread Summer as I'm not a massive fan of the scorching heat and all 3 of my munchkins have inherited my white as snow skin that fries like bacon in a pan of butter. The toddlers are gonna want to be outside all day everyday so I foresee lots of tantrums. Luckily they both understand that no hat means no play so that's one less battle be fought.

I've been waiting in multiple parcels to arrive, nearly all of which are for the christening this weekend and all are late - stress I just don't need. Normally parcel mail is fun, this week not so much! I've been working on a photo wall for our house. I measured it, ordered frames, had some idea of what photos to put where and in which frames. The frames arrived and my non-lateral thinking brain was truly tested. Throw in a couple of toddlers calling 'mummy' over and over and over, and well it wasn't a fun experience and I gave up. Decided to call in reinforcements in the form of my hubby who took one look at it and was all over it. Smartass.

The issue of toilet training has come up twice in the last week. The GP we saw last week asked if I was toilet training Monkey Man yet and I said no. She said good, wait til he's a bit older and do both he and Missy Moo at once. Wow, not the response I was expecting. We'll give it a go but I don't know about the idea of trying to toilet train a 18mo girl??
Then I had a lady in the check out queue at Coles ask me how old Monkey Man was and when I said 27 months she then asked how toilet training was going, and seemed horrified I hadn't started.
The whole toilet training issue has come up in my mind a few times and I've questioned whether I'm doing the right thing by not starting. I have to keep referring to a speech I heard by a parenting expert at one of those baby and toddler shows; 'your toddler needs to be able to communicate to you, not necessarily verbally, that they need to go, meaning until they recognise the urge to go there is no point. It stresses them and you out and makes the process 5x longer'. So that's my view and where I'll stay, for now. I will however give the GP's suggestion a go in the summer time and see how it pans out. Pun intended.


And on the subject of toilet training, last night at bath time Monkey Man told me he wanted to wee on the toilet. So I figured I would go with it. Popped Missy Moo in the bath and helped him onto the loo - must get some of those training seats. And there he sat. Nothing happened but he was happy. Everytime he said he was done I'd get him down and then he'd ask to get back on. It became a game. Eventually I said enough now, it's bath time. Turned around to see Missy Moo had poo'd in the bath. Great, just great! Why do they do that? Monkey Man has only done it once and it was only recent. Missy Moo has done it a few times. Last night it went to a whole new level though... She not only picked it up but she ate it. Urgh! I could puke now just thinking about it. Why I ask!?!! What on earth is appealing about that?

The crap is mums have to deal with hey *smile* (yes, that pun was also intended)

screaming at the supermarket

I told my husband this morning that I was going to go and do the groceries today, by myself, rather than online. It would be some much needed alone time and surely he'd be ok with the kids, especially if I went at naptime. Sure he says, no worries, I'm all over it - what time do they eat again?? Oh dear, this didn't bode well. The morning went on, he then says to me maybe you should take Monkey Man with you. You can take him for a haircut and then do groceries and I'll manage the girls. This is not my idea of alone time but whatever, thats another blog altogether and he might read my blog occasionally....

Monkey Man and I set off. I parked at one end of the shopping centre with the intent to make him walk to the hairdressers, at the other end, in an effort to tire him out. We get to the hairdressers, after stopping to look at every crack in the pavement, every stone or scrap of rubbish in his path, every shop window looking for 'buzz' or 'cows' - he's two ok! It was a slow walk. Get to the hairdressers, yes no problem but it will be 5-10 minutes wait. Filled in 5 mins by going to the chemist next door and then spent the next 20 (yes really!) minutes trying to occupy him in a hair salon. Of course he wants to run, he wants to climb under and over chairs and play with dryers and clippers and scissors... This was going downhill, rapidly. Just as I was about to pull the pin and say forget it, we were called. Massive tantrum starts as no he wants the other kids chair (occupied) and 'no way!!' is he getting in that chair. Well, there was stern words from me, more tears from him and to stop flailing arms and legs in the salon chair I had to pull out the emergency dummy. Thank gawd I took the nappy bag and not a hand bag which I did consider. He sat still with tears glistening on his face and sucked so hard on that dummy while his hair was cut. Watched the wiggles intently (yay for portable DVD players) and really was well behaved, he just looked ridiculous with a dummy in his mouth. He's two but looks older and I'm sure people in the salon thought he was too old for a dummy. Who cares though! He was quiet and sat still for the entire thing.

We left there, I got him a milkshake and off we went to get groceries. The first part was good, he was happy sucking down the milkshake. That soon ended though and arms started lunging for items on the shelves, throwing himself and the trolley around... time for bribery! So out came a sticker sheet and a note book which bought me a few more aisles. I probably got 2/3 way through the shop when it began. He was tired, it was approaching naptime and we were in a crowded shop. He started creating a fuss as I wouldn't give him something and I can't even remember what it was. And then, well then I took the pen away from him (my pen!) as he was drawing all over his face and putting the pen in his mouth, despite being told not to multiple times. Not a happy toddler!! Massive tantrum started, screaming, yelling, hitting me... the works! I wasn't phased by it but others were... we hurridly finished the shopping and headed home. He screamed the entire way home, which was only ten mins max but felt like forever. I swore today that I will never take him grocery shopping again, well not unless I decided to and its much earlier... I knew it was too late to take him with me but I guess I felt bad leaving my hubby with all 3 and did it anyway. And then I rushed and was stressed thinking of him home alone with the two girls... overall it was an epic fail!

now back to ebay to search for a playpen to protect my xmas tree from the tornado, or should that be protect my kids from the tree??

I'm sick

I've got a sniffle and its annoying me. My nose is red from blowing it, wiping it all freaking day. I feel fine, no other issues just a runny nose - maybe its allergies?? Whatever it is, it needs to piss of pronto as I'm busy this week and can't be dealing with sickness too. As I get older, I'm learning to accept that I have an illness, a serious disorder. A shopping illness. I went into Myer today to get one or two things for a friends baby, and to check for xmas gear (I NEED xmas PJs for my kids!) and I bought nothing for said baby, but lots for my babies! hahaha. I go into woolies to get bread and come out with 20 items and $60 poorer!! My husband says I have an illness and I tend to agree with him. But don't tell him that. I just think its a woman's perogative to buy buy buy!!

I got mail today, in the form of parcels and oh how I love receiving parcels. Decorations for my girls christening.... geez it would be nice to have hours of free time to set everything up perfectly, how I see it in my head. Instead I know it will be a last minute throw together and get everyone out the door. Oh well, doesn't matter.

I have an entire house to clean before next Sunday, including vaccuuming up the sandpit my son bought home from daycare in his shoes, pants, nappy, hair etc... How they get it everywhere is beyond me?

I can feel a coldsore coming as my stress levels rising. Fab, just what I need when we're having some photos done.

I bought Lion King on DVD today, how I loved that movie when I was younger... I hope my kidlets love it too, and quite frankly anything has got to be better than watching Toy Story 1,2, or 3 for the 55th millionth time!

Weighed in this morning and lost another 1.3kg, so 5.1kg in total! Woot! So far, so good

second opinion

I took Missy Moo to a childrens doctor today, fully prepared to be told yes she has an ear infection and based on her history here is a referral to a paed ENT dude. Well according to todays Dr she doesn't have an ear infection but bronchialitis (can never spell that!!)... and now I am questioning every other ear infection diagnosis? According to todays Dr there is no sign of chronic ear infections, her ears are perfect and her speech development and balance are on track for her age, and if she'd had all these ear infections these things would be behind. Far out, who do you believe? You trust doctors, not only for yourself but for your precious children and yet get told opposing information. Gah! So frustrated. We're to finish the antibiotics she's on but the virus will pass in its own time and she'll be whingy until then (yay)... oh and keep an eye on the baby as she will most likely get it to. oh oh oh! and pull Missy Moo out of daycare as otherwise she will keep getting sick. hmmmm decisions decisions. Yes pulling her out is probably the right thing to do I know this and I suspected this since I finished work. She's a very sensitive little soul and was always happier at home. Will I leave Monkey Man in one day a week and have a girls day? Will he go to daycare without her? They're each others shadows and at the moment when he tantrums at daycare drop off I can suggest we go find Ivy and he's happy again. Surely her being with me will defeat the purpose of Toddler Free Friday? Will she get sick with what he brings home from daycare anyway, if I was to I leave him in one day a week? Will she be deprived of education and stimulation by not going to daycare? Will I cope with her every day of the week, seeing her nickname is cling on? (that didnt sound as selfish in my head!??!) Am I depriving Little Miss of some much needed one on one time by having Missy Moo home with us on Fridays? GAH!!!!!  I am so exhausted tonight after a bad night with her last night yet my brain is going round and round in circles... what to do? its keeping me awake tonight...

The Dr we saw was very cool from a toddler perspective, a big toy room in the waiting area, more toys in the Drs room and a bunk bed as an exam table. Very child friendly, just a shame they don't bulk bill. I know, I know, you can't put a price on your kids health but when you're trying to make ends meet month to month, and you live at the Drs like we do, well paying for a Dr visit each week could get very pricey... Wish they bulk billed....

still thinking about what to do

and if my iPhone would finish its bloody update I might be able to get to bed before midnight