New job, cooking and a wedding!

If you were after a well put together post that makes sense look away now! 

Life lately has been an crazy mix of compromise, lack of sleep, self doubt, wonderful moments and learning - this post will update you on what you've missed, bore you and perhaps make you a little dizzy because I'm likely to jump from thing to thing haha.

We've had lots of lovely moments as a family, deliberately making time for family snuggles, finger-painting, dancing and running around the house like crazy people, jumping out at one another - this has always been Elijah's favourite game and he's now taken to hiding and scaring us. Beyond cute.

I'm sticking to keeping the focus on being grateful, or trying to, and making my moments with Elijah quality. He has been trying out the 4am wake ups again and that's just ridiculous so sometimes I find myself being a little short tempered or distracted. I've begun involving him in food preparation, which he loves! The other day we made an omelette and today we made some chocolate banana zucchini muffins (I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested, they're delish! And very simple). His favourite part is stirring. Today he pulled a chair up to the bench and stood on it telling me "Mummy, kickook, kickook" it took me a while to realize he was saying 'cooking' (note: Elijah says new words backwards like that often, is this common, and has anyone else's little one done it?)
 

 

                            

 

I'm back at work. I think I missed blogging abut the whole quitting the bank decision  a few months ago an  starting my Cert 4 Allied Health Assistant course - hoping I'd find a job quickly. Well it wasn't quickly but I found one! I'm working at a hospital doing admin and switchboard. It's casual/shift work which I've never done and I have to say it's taking some getting used to. 

I've been clucky. It's happened before but usually goes away quickly and without much fuss. Not so much this time. I'm putting it down to turning 30 shortly and the fact that I seem to be ovulating strangely and rather intensely. It will pass. It has to, getting me pregnant would be a feat, our donor is no longer available and we don't have the cash to do it. Not to mention, I have no desire to give birth AT ALL. No thank you! Each to their own but *shiver* not so much.

Elijah is taking more now. I love the way he says dinosaur (his favourite word I think, besides bum) and his favourite phrase is "where are you?" Which comes out more like "weeaaaaaooooooooo" makes me giggle every time.

My sister got married last weekend. I was Maid of Honour and Elijah was Pageboy. He was ADORABLE! It was hard for me because my mother was there, we're estranged, and it was awful to have to see her but I did it for my sister and it was worth it to see her so happy.

 

                           

 

 

  

Thank you Mr Snail

Before Elijah was born, people would always ask what Elijah would call Jo and myself, which prompted us to decide pretty early on that Jo would be Mum and I would be Mummy, until he could make  up his own mind. We get mixed up, and so do other people, and as Elijah has been taking his time in the talking department, it's only now that we're getting an indication of what he might like to call us. He has taken to calling Jo Mum and me Mamma, although it's sometimes Mum or Mumum or Mummy and we're totally interchangeable haha.

I like being his Mamma/Mummy. It's a privilege and an honour and no matter how challenging it can be it's the most amazing thing I could ever be. 

Sometimes though, I don't feel like the best Mamma I could be. Like when I just need to pee alone or eat my lunch without a small person using me as a jungle gym and I do what we all promise we won't, and use the tv as a sitter. Or the times I'm short on patience from being up since 4am five days in a row and find myself less patient than he deserves. Or the times I growl at my precious boy because being hit in the head with a book sixteen times really wears me down. Or the days where I stare at my phone instead of watching him play... 

I've become complacent, I've started taking him for granted and it doesn't feel great. But, I've decided that instead of beating myself up for the things that most of us do (We all do that stuff right?) I'm going to redirect that yucky energy to motivation to take a step back, realize what an amazing gift my Elijah is and do something about it. I will try and be more patient, I will put down my phone, I will drink in his giggles and hugs and those awfully sloppy kisses, I will learn to duck books (and other flying objects) and I will create more memories with my darling boy.

Today, I made a start. We went into the back yard to play in the dirt, and throw the ball for our pup. We had a great time. Elijah helped me weed the small garden beds where we got our hands grubby and found a snail! I picked it up and managed to hold his attention long enough for him to watch Mr Snail slooooooowly come out of his shell. The look on his face was delightful. It was wonderful to just be in the moment and see the wonder on his face as he experienced a snail for the first time. Maybe next time we will dig up some worms!

 

No snails were harmed during the creation of this post. All hands were washed thoroughly ;)

Bump!

 

Its been about 5 months since my last post. Life got busy, I kept putting it off, the more I put it off the more I worried about what I would write about and then I'd procrastinate more :/ 

After some advice from my friends over at My Two Mums, I decided to just jump back in!

So, without further adieu, I present to you the first post of 2014!

 

Yesterday was going to have an interesting start, I knew that before the day began... The plan was to drop Elijah at Daycare, come home and collect Lilah, the family dog, drop her at the vet for de-sexing and get myself to TAFE for a dat of first aid training.

Well... Not so much.

I dropped Elijah at Daycare with no issue, I got a lovely kiss and a wave and set off home to collect Lilah. 

I arrived home to find one muddy pooch. It had been raining and she had been digging in our lovely rich red soil :| I managed to get her into the back of my car with a lovely trail of footprints through the house and only a little on myself. We arrive at the vet on schedule and I think to myself 'yeah, you can do this! Suck on that anxiety!' (Note: my anxiety levels have been great, but straying from routine can set it off for me) I take her in and she pees, of course... Then the vet says to me "Jo called, you need to collect your son from daycare" - my head spins, how does she know, what's happened, oh my god what.has.happened!?

I get in my car and there are missed calls from Jo and the daycare... I listen to the calls from daycare first, I can hear him screaming and I hear the daycare lady say something about hitting his head and that he needs to see a Dr.

Jo calls, she knows as much as I do. I tell her to call daycare and say I'm coming, I ask her to call TAFE so they know I'm not coming and I head to daycare.  The longest ten minutes of my life...

 

 

I walk in and I see... Elijah playing... Yep. Happily playing. With an egg the size of god-knows-what in his forehead. Big sigh of relief there! 

 

 





Ouch!
This was taken some time after we got home
 

 

Our Dr gave the all clear and we spent the day at home, playing quietly.

 

We threaded some pasta

                                             

 

we ate it...

                                               

               

and then got bored and started blowing raspberries

                   

                

 

 

Then we took an empty tissue box...

                   

 

and collected some things in the backyard!

                  

What Mummy, I'm fine!

                    

               

I can't help but imagine if he had hit his head just a little harder, he was SO close to breaking the skin, and could have easily gotten concussion. We are so lucky!

Silent Sunday ~ Because who needs a proper blog post? ;)

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

My ABCs

I recently saw an 'ABC's of Advice' on another blog and decided to do one myself.

Here's my ABC's of Advice for the first year of parenthood!

Accept help. Dishes, baby-minding, washing... Do yourself a favour and just say yes.

Be kind to yourself. It's a tough gig!

Crying will become a daily event.

Dry shampoo. You're welcome.

Every child is different, don't compare too much.

Farts. Baby farts are LOUD! You'll wonder exactly HOW your little angel made that sound.

Giggles. You will spend so much of your time trying to make baby laugh. The best part of my day is making E laugh.

Hard. It's definitely trying at times. You'll second guess yourself, you'll cry. You'll wonder if you can even do it. You can - it gets easier. Promise.

Instincts. Trust them. 

Joy. Find joy in the little things.

Kisses. Baby kisses are glorious and slobbery and delightful. I think I cried the first time E kissed me back.

Love. You will feel more love than you ever even thought possible. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it can take months, it will come and it will knock your socks off.

Make time for yourself.

No one has the 'right answer' or knows the 'right way' to do it.

Overreact. Try not to. Those first bumps on the head, fat lips, scraped knees. Try and be calm and composed, your little one will look to you to see if things are OK. This is a hard one but I've found it so helpful. Now when E falls he just kind of checks himself to make sure he's not hurting and goes back to playing.

Play. It's so important in baby's first year. 

Quiet time is rare, savour it.

Routine. Do your best to get one, life is SO much easier with a routine. Your routine might be completely different to the next person, and that's ok. Just work something out that suits your life.

Sex. What's that? (Be prepared for your love life to wane at least a little but probably a lot).

This too shall pass - it's been my mantra. It gets me through the hard days and makes me appreciate

the good ones.

Understanding. Do your best to be understanding of your partner, they're going through it too. No matter who gives birth, it's a massive journey for everyone.

Valuim... Just kidding ;)

Wrinkles! They're coming for you ;)

Xylophones are great, but they'll just chew on the stick for most of their first year.

Your life will be an amazing roller coaster. 

Zzzzzz... Sleep will reach a whole new level of importance! Get as much as you can.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Bubbaroo Review!

I was very excited to discover Bubbaroo were looking for Australian bloggers to review their products, and when they offered me the Joey Swag to review I jumped at the chance!

 

 

 

 

When the box arrived Elijah was very excited to help Mummy open it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sent the heavyweight Joey Swag 6-18 months in mocha which normally retails for $84.95. We have not paid that much when buying sleep suits for him before, and I may have thought twice if I had never used a Bubbaroo product knowing how hit-and-miss sleep suits can be (I should add, we have only purchased his previous winter suits as second hand - I'm a bargain hunter and love a good op-shop). In saying that, the Joey Swag is lovely quality and, after using it, I believe it's worth every cent.

 

One of the first things I noticed was that the swag was lovely and soft; it was also lighter than I expected, so I wasn't sure it would be warm enough. However it has kept Elijah lovely and toasty on the colder nights, as well as not overheating him on the slightly warmer ones. It fits him well around the shoulders, and the length is perfect for him as he usually has a little kick/roll around as he settles down for sleep, and sometimes gets cross if he's restricted by bedding. 

 

When it comes to particular features I was looking out for, the main one for me was how easy it would be to get on and off a wriggly toddler who may not actually want to go to bed. We have a few different styles already; buttons down the front, zip up the side and one with buttons and a zipper - some of them are just infuriating. I found the Joey Swag SO simple, with a two  way  zipper at the front that is very easy to get on and off or just get in to change a nappy. It also has a slot to accommodate a car seat or pram harness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bubbaroo has a great range of products including face washers, Joey Pouches and Blankies, a newborn pack and a super cute joey toy.  The website is lovely and has advice and guides to make choosing your product very simple. Not only safe and functional, but stylish - you won't find any gaudy designs in Bubbaroo's range. I adore the soft, natural colours that the products come in.

 

I would absolutely recommend the Bubbaroo Joey Swag, and will definitely be buying Elijah more from Bubbaroo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* I was sent this product for the purpose of this review.

All views and opinions are my own. *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another month has passed

How did that even happen!? 

This last month has been a little crazy, and I haven't gotten around to blogging aside from the occasional pic for Silent Sunday. I won't apologize, you're all used to it by now ;)

Sadly, we said goodbye to my Great Uncle Geoffrey. He was a gorgeous man, never letting the fact that he had Downs Syndrome get in the way of leading an amazing life. He will be very missed, but I'm so proud that I can say I knew him.

In other news, Elijah has changed so so much. Babbling non stop and even cracking out a "mum mum mum" for me the other day. He often sounds like he's telling a funny story and looks at you like; "do you even understand me, lady?". He has cut his bottom molars, boy that was AWFUL! His previous teething was nothing compared to that. We were almost in tears, seeing him in that much pain - to top it off, as he was teething, he broke out in a rash and got blisters around his little mouth so stopped eating for a few days. He was diagnosed with Hand Foot and Mouth disease, which has now passed. Phew!

That's a little update for you all. Sorry it's short and sweet, so much to do so little time!

Silent Sunday