This Week…The Littlest Boy

Al arrived, on time, at 8 past 9 in the evening on the 22 April. He is sleeping and eating well. Mums okay as her boy is giving her a few hours a night…still looking forward to a full nights sleep.*dreams*

 

Al’s big brothers, The Poet and LIl Blue are very happy and excited and are being very good about Mum only having one pair of arms …though it would be far more useful if she had nineteen! Lil Blue is getting well acquainted with his Playschool DVD and Mum knows ALL the songs off by heart. Its handy for keeping small boys quiet while Lil Al is breastfeeding yet again.

Yesterday we made it out to the local library. It only took us two hours to get out of the front door what with feeding, changing nappies and feeding again. Lil Al was very well behaved; he slept most of the time woke for a feed and, much to Mum’s relief (cos she didn’t pack spare clothes for herself), didn’t power spew at the library. After ten years of child rearing I’ve finally got the hang of burping a baby - I think! Time to go…feeding duty calls again.

I’ll leave you with a photo of Al doing what he does best…haven’t got any shots of him puking so sleeping will have to do (I’m sure he’s dreaming of throwing up though!) Hehehe.

 

Over the Rainbow

This song by the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole keeps coming back to me; first in Fifty First Dates, then last year my SIL sent me a copy of it and the other night it was at the end of Life On Mars. It is so sweet and sad and I am wearing out my ipod playing it at the moment. Must be a hormonal thing. Enjoy.

 

 

 

This Month!

 I have many notes and ideas for stories. All will have to be revisited in a few months time once new bubs has settled into a routine and I have some control over my life (hah!). 3 weeks til Drop Day. I have resigned myself to the chaos, mayhem and sleeplessness…it will pass… sometime over the next 18 years!…( i can see my mother shaking her heading and saying dream on!)

I have been busy on my sewing machine…creating critters….

Meet Wonky Monkey and Stripey Baby. I found a simple doll pattern online, I have made Stripey Baby for Lil Blue so once bubs arrives he has a ‘baby’ of his own to look after…or thump, depending on his mood! I have made him as neutral as possible as my darling Milkman has ‘issues’ with his boys playing with dolls…You’ve got to love a true blue Aussie male… (little does he know I let Lil Blue run riot with the dolls at playgroup….mwahhahahaha! The subversive power of the mother!).

Anyhoo once I realised how easy the whole rag doll making thing was I realised I could make animals…so two nights later Wonky Monkey was created. His heads a bit skew-whiff, one of his legs is on backwards and his tail looks a bit questionable (I sewed it right between his legs…in hindsight it should have gone on his lower back!!!). I have plans for a plaid rabbit and I have found a site with a gorgeous pig pattern that I am dying to try.  I like the pig on the right with it’s eyes shut. I have some offcuts of pale green corduroy embroidered with pink butterflies which I think would look cute. I’m planning on making it for my girlfriend who was born in the year of the pig. I’m sure it will be wonky just like it’s predecessors but I’m finding making these far more satisfying than clothes.

I have a big pile of books to read; Allende and Gemmell feature. It will take months for me to finish them all but I’ll have plenty to fish through. I picked them up today at a local market. The guy who runs the stall always has some good things to read and I picked up 4 good books for $20 which I was happy about.

Okay all. Thats it from Big Mama. Join me next time when I’ll be Little Mama once more for the birth debrief. No gory photos I promise.  Hugs all!

 

 

 

Will Mr. Bean Deliver My Baby?

Have to share…

I had an appointment today with my new obstetrician.

But first I must regale you with a story about the birth of Lil Blue.

It all went swimmingly.  I was very pleased with myself and with my new little fellow. Unfortunately the midwives were not very happy with the amount of blood I was losing. Understandably I was very tired, probably more so due to blood loss. I had just said goodbye to my eldest and The Milkman and I must have dosed off for a while.

The next thing I knew Mr. Bean was sitting at my bedside telling me he had to put a port in my hand to set up a drip. It took him three goes to get it in and by this time I was getting woozier and woozier. (I’m not good with needles at the best of times and this one was huge.) So Mr Bean gets the needle in my hand the third time and I pass out in the process pulling the needle back out. I come to with an oxygen mask and Mr. Bean replacing the needle in my opposite hand . It was all very weird.

Anyhoo. Back to my appointment with the new ob… I had been joking to people that it might be Mr Bean from the hospital..guess what?…

Mr Bean asks me into his office. No sorry, Doctor Bean.  I told him as I sat down that we had met before and I had passed out while he put a drip in my hand. He laughed and said he had that effect on people. I didn’t tell him who I thought he looked like.

He is a very thorough and reassuring doctor. I feel very confident to have him as my ob. All things going well he will only be there after bubs is delivered. Obviously if things go pear shaped I will be-able to tell you all that Mr. Bean delivered my baby…

But I won’t tell my doc that.

I keep having visions of the turkey stuffing episode…I’ll make sure he isn’t wearing a watch!

l

 

You Want This for Your Birthday

I would like to introduce you to a game I play with The Milkman, my Groovy Sister and my Big Little Brother.
It can be played at home or out and about.
If playing at home you can use magazines (TV mags are perfect) or the squinternet.
If playing out and about shops (of any type) are good.
The object of this game is to find the tackiest, gaudiest, least attractive object and say to your friend/victim “You want this for your birthday.” If you are out shopping you can have hours of fun as you score points trying to out do each other’s bad-taste.
I have tried playing this with my eldest, The Poet, but he’s no fun as he just calls my bluff and replies “Yeah I know.” Even if it’s the Barbie Pretty in Pink Sweet Dreams Disco Diva Camper Van with poseable Play Pals.

This game can be played with clothes, shoes, gift catalogues, CD’s, jewellery; the possibilities are endless. EBay has become the source of many a good laugh.
I will apologise in advance as I am well aware that one man/s trash is another man’s treasure. Feel free to disagree with my gift choices and don’t hesitate to add your own!

* Many thanks to the Bradford Group for their bottomless treasure trove of really noice goodies.

 

 

 

 

This Week

Books: I am happy to say that I have done a fair bit of reading over the past few weeks. My favourite book was Isabelle Allende’s City of  the Beasts. Mystery, magic, mythical beasts, talismans, mysterious guides and hidden treasure. What more could you want? (Apart from a trip with L’Enchanteur!) I lked it so much I have found the sequel ,Kingdom of the Golden Dragon ,which I plan to read as soon as I have time!

Writing: Well. where to start? Since the begiining of January I have been writing almost everyday for the blog Travelling with Le Enchanteur. I am really enjoying the daily writing and being able to read everyone else’s contributions. There is a great deal of fun in the comment boxes too! You can find all my posts here.

Stuff and Things: I have spent the evening playing with Adobe PS creating a tapestry for an Enchanteur post that will come up in a couple of days. I am really pleased with it and can’t wait to show it to everyone!

I have lost track of how pregnant I am…I must be coming up to 7 months. The 20 week scan was back in early December  and we found out that we are expecting another boy; my third and the Milkman’s second. We have a name picked out and Lil Blue and I put all his tiny baby clothes into a new chest of draws ready for his new little brother. I have started sleeping him in a big bed, which he thinks is great fun as he can get up and down when he wants!

Movies: The Milkman and I watched Black Sheep. It is a NZ film about genetically modified weresheep. As you might have guessed it’s a comedy and it is hilarious. Sheep induced gore is something else!!

Tunes: Listening to Mr E’s Beautiful Blues by Eels from Daisys of the Galaxy

I have attempted to embed some Youtube vids but can’t get them to work…if anyone has any tips please feel free to point me in the right direction!

 

This Week

Books: I finished (hurrah!) and thoroughly enjoyed Nicki Gemmell’s Love Song. She writes so poetically and her stories are so sad; about isolation and betrayal. Snip and Lillie (from Cleave and Love Song respectively) are amazingly resiliant yet fiercely independent women. Recommend both books. It’s good to find a modern Australlian female writer who has some substance.

Writing: I had a brainwave that using the dictation mode on my computer would speed up the word processing process… Phfffffffthbbbt! (snort with derisive laughter). After half an hour of ‘training’ my computer, which involved the very surreal process of reading an excerpt of Poe’s The Fall of The House of Usher, I began reading my story to my computer. Either the computer had a major problem interpreting my form of Strine or I hadn’t rewarded it enough during the training process. In half an hour I had only processed one page of my story. Plus a conversation I had with the Milkman…which was faithfully transcibed into gobbledygook until I remembered to turn off the microphone.  I can see this being (once  I have trained the computer and fed it treats for being good) a very useful tool. At the moment it is a source of laughs as I read back the computer’s interpretation of my dictation. I may have to post an excerpt of what the computer decided  my story was about!

Stuff and Things: Baby is definitely kicking! It’s starting to be more of a reality now. The exciting news is we find out this Wednesday what flavour baby we have….pink or blue! Having 2 boys already a girl would be lovely but I really don’t mind. Watch this space! I think it’s the 3D scan this time as well.

Sounds: Sadly I cannot access the big computer and listen to itunes as I have cleverly drowned my remote keyboard with a glass of water. I am hoping it will dry out and work ….but I have a feeling I will be forking out for a new keyboard. Doh!

Hugs to all

 

Top 5

Top 5
Things that make me scream and other people laugh (at my expense).

Spiders:
Imagine, if you will, a quiet, squeamish,  9 year-old city girl from London. Her only contact with spiders being the occasional Daddy Long legs in the bathroom. See her now at her new home in Victoria, Australia. Everything’s bigger, brighter and very foreign. There are amazing birds of all shapes, sizes and colours. On her new bedroom wall is a Gould League poster illustrating the varied birdlife that might be found in her big, leafy treed backyard. She absently taps the poster thinking of nothing in particular. From being the poster creep two enormous black hairy spider legs.
Screams. An athletic leap from the bed to the other side of the bedroom door. Where she remains refusing to enter the room until the spider is gone.
My poor Dad. Who was just as squeamish and unfamiliar with our exotic arachnid friends armed himself with the vacuum cleaner and removed the offending beastie.
To this day I’m not the best with anything that has more than 6 legs. Unless it is salt and pepper squid.

Psycho:
 Not so much the movie as the brilliant timing of my brother. I was 14. My (still) best friend and I were sitting in the dark in my bedroom watching the climax of the movie; just as the chair holding ‘Mother’ was being turned around. My brother (I do love him really!) opened my bedroom door and threw a stuffed toy at me. Screams ensued. Everyone else thought it was funny.

Leeches:
 I have always had a morbid fear of leeches. I think it may all stem from a Medicines exhibition that I was taken to when I was about 8 or 9 at The Science Museum in London. I remember feeling distinctly queasy whilst looking at tools used to drill holes in the skull and reading about the use of leeches to cleanse the blood.
There are two parts to this story; one when I was about 15 and my brother chased me around a holiday garden with a leech in a jar with the lid on. I am blonde on the inside.
The second …I wasn’t so young…21(well yes I was that young!) In a rowing boat, on the lake at Pokhara, Nepal. We rowed to the far side of the lake and had a bit of a walk in the jungle. Back in the boat I take off my sandals to find tiny little leeches attached to my feet. Much to my then partner’s embarrassment I begin screaming at the top of my voice “Get them off me” over and over again. He keeps rowing and I hysterically scrape them off my feet. I can laugh now. They really were tiny. Needless to say my over sympathetic partner (not) and I have since parted ways!

Electric Fences:
Surprise, surprise. My brother appears again. Amazingly, I am still on speaking terms with him. This time in cahoots with my Dad. I am about 14. A very gullible and trusting 14 year old. Trust me; I am a lot more cynical now! Another holiday. On a farm. My brother and Dad convince me that the fence is switched off and it won’t hurt me.
‘Just grab it” they say…. So Muggins here wraps her whole hand around the wire. You can imagine the hilarity that followed. The laughs and holding of sides. Even Mum was laughing. I, meanwhile, in mortal pain up to my arm pit (as only a 14 year old can be!) Am reduced to angry tears and hurt pride. Oh we still all laugh about that one.

Scary Email Attachments:
I am a horror movie wimp. When I do watch them it’s usually with my hand clenching the Milkman’s arm hard enough to leave bruises. I am struck with fear for a good 2 to 3 weeks afterwards. I had to turn the lights on at night for about 3 months after watching The Ring. I sidled past the TV in dread each time I had to get up and go the toilet. I even took to waking up The Milkman to accompany me to the toilet.
 It’s okay. You can laugh. Two nights ago we watched 28 Weeks Later. I really liked 28 Days Later and I wanted to watch the sequel. But yes, I am a tad nervous when I got to the toilet at night now. It would be very easy to induce a girlish scream from me.
 Anyhoo, a few months ago I got an email from a girlfriend with a power point attachment called Sweet Dreams. I was sitting alone, in the dark. The presentation opened and the instructions were to click on the red dot. With each cute picture of fluffy kittens and sweet babies the dots became smaller and smaller so I crept closer and closer to the monitor. The very last screen was a picture from the Finding Nemo movie. Its had lots of very tiny flecks and I literally had my nose on the screen to find the dot. But find it I did! Click! Suddenly an awful scream blares from the speakers and a rotting zombie face is eyeball to eyeball with me. I scream in return, push my chair as far back from the desk as possible and run, sobbing, into the lounge room to the Milkman. He thinks I’ve  hurt myself. I’m hyperventilating, my heart is pounding. I’m so upset I can hardly speak.
I know as soon as start to tell him (through hiccoughs) that I sound totally stupid. I even laugh a little. But I still get the Milkman to open any power point attachments that I’m not sure of. There have been more sent. I shut my eyes and block my ears.
 I’m still a girly wimp! Hurrah!

 

This Week

Books: Woo hoo! You may want to sit down… I have read a whole book! I borrowed Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad from the library and it was so good I read it in one afternoon. OMG! I also borrrowed Nikki Gemmell’s Love Song; which, as with her work Cleave, is beautifully written. Just haven’t finished it yet! I also read this months Rolling Stone mag which had some great articles; an interview with Bruce Springsteen, an article about profiteering in Iraq and an interview with Summer Heights High creator Chris Lilley. Tne milkman bought me the DVD of the series. I know it’s not to all tastes but I found it quite sad in parts, hilarious and incredibly clever. He is an amazing talent. Certainly knows how to stir things up.

Writing: Still transferring dog walking story to word…I keep finding things I would rather do. Like be outside with Lil Blue!

Stuff and Things: Lil Blue has had his first haircut. All the curls have gone and he looks like a big boy. I have kept a locket to treasure. As summer is pretty much already here he will be alot more comfortable in the heat. We are a family of sweaty heads! Just wish I could get away with a shaved head…everyone would just assume the family was suffering from headlice. I am contemplating a short cut soon (but not that short!).. just easier with time and tiredness with baby impending. Plus long,boofy, curly, dry hair really doesn’t look anything more than an out of control haystack in our windy, dry heat. Anyhoo enough of my bad hair year.

The Milkman and I watched Knocked Up the other night. I roared with laughter. Again…not to all tastes but very funny. This morning I folded laundry at 4.30 am and watched nearly all of 21 Grams. Amazing. Yesterday was our Federal Election… we voted in the morning and then waited to see which one of the turkey’s got in. The old turkey is out and we have a new turkey. Joy.

Sounds: Beastie Boys Brass Monkey just finished and now…Eels Saturday Morning. Itunes shuffle mode is so Forrest Gump. You never know what you’re going to get. Wonder what it will be next week?….Stay tuned!

Hooroo!

 

This Week

Books: No real books. Virtual stuff…I’ve been following Miss P’s adventures and enjoying She -Wolfy’s fantastic dragon story.

Writing:I’ve finished The Poets story about dog-walking and have written a piece about my 20 years of cat ownership. I just need to word process  and edit them… give me a couple of weeks…or months!

Stuff and Things:I truly have black thumbs. My seedlings from September had half hearted success. The ones I planted 2 or 3 weeks ago are yet to poke their heads out of the dirt. I have cheated and gone to a nursery and bought some established seedlings. Rosemary, lemongrass and basil. Things that smell good, can be eaten by little people exploring the garden (someone loves the taste of lavender and lemon geranium!)_ and enjoy our unforgiving relentless sunshine (we had 40 degrees C on Sunday…that’s over 103 in the old scale. And its only November). I have also planted some native shrubs, net bush and pin-cushion hakea, to screen our incredibly ugly fence and our neighbour’s equally ugly shed. A few years and we will have beautiful flowers, native birds…lovely. The plus is after this summer they wont need any special care…my kinda plant!

The bump is starting to interfere with typing - it is pushing my slide out keyboard desk back under the main desk. .. Haven’t felt any movement yet but I am expecting it any day…its easy to get excited over digestion gurgles at the moment.

I have dug out a hypnobirthing CD that I listened to during my last pregnancy. Its supposed to be full of subliminal messages that lead to a pain free, easy birth…I don’t know if it worked or not…The Poet’s was an “easy’ birth, so was Lil  Blue’s but I had no hypno subliminal power of suggestion with the first. As for pain free…I’d like to see that! (That will be the day men give birth!)

 If nothing else it sends me off to a lovely relaxing sleep (the CD…not childbirth!!) which I find hard to do after The Milkman leaves for work at 4.30am. So I’ll keep listening to it for it’s sleep inducing properties.

That’s all folks! zzzzz!