This Week

I’m bringing the weekly dose back. That is the plan anyway.

Books: If nothing else I have maintained my ability to consume several books at one time. The past few weeks has seen all The Dexter books, save the fourth one, devoured and enjoyed. I have also (thanks to my voracious reader son) picked up and read the first 3 Artemis Fowl books. I am currently reading the fourth ( I believe there are 3 more after that!). I also have to finish Tim Winton’s Turning Point and Neil Gaiman’s Smoke and Mirrors.

That’s about it folks. I’m hoping to make a point of doing some journal work each night  and once a week posting the best bits here….watch this space!!

How to Ruin Dinner in 6 Easy Steps

1 Cook delicious pasta sauce using bacon, beef, garlic, capsicum, red wine and herbs.

2 Simmer sauce for half an hour enjoying wonderful aroma.

3 Put large pot of water on to boil.

4 Test sauce for thickness. Too runny? Add one or two teaspoons of cornflour mixed with a small amount of water.

5  Watch and wonder at pasta sauce frothing and bubbling out of the pot and all over stove.

6  Check packet of corn flour. Put on glasses. Swear at packet of Bicarbonate of Soda.

7 Send husband out for burgers and chips.

8 Enjoy.

Life is What???

I have been troubled recently by a quote from the movie Forrest Gump. To tell the truth the whole movie troubles me. In fact any movie starring Tom Hanks troubles me. Any movie with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan makes me physically ill. Now you know.

But today I want to complain about Forrest Gump. I must. Poor old simple limpy Forrest Gump and his mother of a thousand platitudes. Or two that I can remember.

The one that has been bothering me recently is this:

 

Life is like a box of chocolates.

You never know what you’re going to get.
 

I’m sorry, but this is, quite clearly, a load of crap. Crap ‘cos it is a quote from Forrest Gump but also crap because every single box of chocolates that I have eaten has had a bit of shiny paper printed with all the pictures of the chocolates and a brief explanation of each chocolate and its filling.

So you know EXACTLY what you’re going to get and you can leave all the sickly strawberry creams and orange fondants and eat all the good ones.

Even the cheapest boxes of chocolates have this information printed on the lid or on the wrappers of the chocolates themselves.

So if life is NOT like a box of chocolates what is it like?

 

A cheap and nasty pinata from Target?

The morning after a drunken one night stand?

The Google search button?

 

Yes Forrest; stupid is as stupid does.

Tell your Momma to wake up and read the chocolate box lid.

 

Thanks for letting me share.

Maybe I’ll sleep tonight.

Say Aaaah!

I had two hours away from the kids this week.
I got to put my feet up, shut my eyes, and lie back in a comfy chair.
It was blissful…

if only

for the few brief moments when I could block out the screaming drill, the two pairs of hands in my mouth and the sound of that sucky-pipe thing.
Yes I had a tooth extracted. Well to be exact I had a tooth smashed out of my mouth. Extracted makes it sound clean and simple and effortless…and quick.

It was none of the above.
I was told it would be a straight forward procedure taking no more than half an hour.
Excuse while I laugh so much I fall off my chair. I am older and wiser now. Okay I’m sitting up again.
The ’simple’ ‘half hour’ procedure took an hour and a half.
The dentist..who I jokingly called Dr Pain two days ago ( he gets to keep that name now)…definitely needs a course in body language. After 15 minutes of drilling I was told I would feel some pulling and cracking sounds and it would be over. This was not to be.
Instead I spent the next hour or so listening to him sighing dramatically and saying ‘Oh no’ and watching sharp/blunt/grabby instruments of tooth torture go into my nouth and come out increasingly bloody and with NO tooth attached to them.
For a self confessed dentistophobe (yes I made that word  up) this is a situation I would run a mile from. But I was stuck in the chair with hallf a tooth still stuck in my head ( the crown broke off leaving the roots behind). I went to a nice place and tried to ignore the gore fest happening in my mouth. Eventually those roots gave up the good fight and I was sewn up (two stitches!) and told that I had an incredibly thick jaw bone ( am I a thick head????!) that was worse than a wisdom tooth extraction. (I’m glad I was under a general anaesthetic when I had them done!)
So I have to go back to see Dr Pain to get the stitches removed next week. He says it will only take five minutes……

This Month..or Two

I must be very wicked indeed as I get no rest at all!

Writing…a few poems which I will post sometime. I’m trying to write something short everyday but it usually ends up evry 4 or 5 days.

Books… While Lil Al was feeding alot at night I was sitting up and reading. I revisited all of the Thursday Next adventures and finally finished the Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy. I am loathe to see the movie now. It could only disappoint. Now he is sleeping more at night and only feeding briefly the reading has dropped off again. I have borrowed Mr Pip from the library to see if I can pick up where I left off and finish it!

Stuff and Things…. Wes Anderson is my hero. I watched The Darjeeling Limited last week and loved it. Understated, funny, beautiful. I need to watch some of his earlier movies now as I have only seen The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.

Listening to new stuff…The Feeling and The Killers … who I caught on an ABC TV broadcast Live from Abbey Road.

I have discovered the value of Facebook for finding long lost friends. Amongst other people I have regained contact with a childhood schoolfriend I haven’t seen since I left England when I was 9. We both reckon neither of us has changed.

I’m pretty confident that both boys will take after their much older bookworm big brother. I took them to the library this week and both were so excited by the prospect of books that I had to change their nappies. They seem to synchronise these things. Unfortunately the local library toilet does not cater for a mum laden with pram, nappy bag and toddler so I had to find a discreet corner to change them. Lil Al  (like all small babies) manages to pass twice his body weight and it goes everywhere. He took great joy in laughing at me while I attempted to change him without letting other people in the library see the horror. Lets just say it took several thousand wipes and a battalion of small disposable nappy bags full to bursting with clothing, blankets and of course the nappy. It took a good 10 minutes to strip him, clean him, clothe him and then I tried to relax and feed him. Some nice old ladies wandered past , looking for books and clucked at Lil Blue. I had already changed him and he was getting restless as I had to sit still to feed his little brother. As the ladies stood poring over the books, not more than a metre away from me, he decided to climb on the backpack holding all of their toxic waste. The backpack was zipped up but all I could smell as his weight squooshed the air out of the backpack was baby poo. Those ladies left real quick.

How can you resist?

So Lil Al is almost 12 weeks old now and is almost sleeping through…(please, please,please). Lil Blue will be 2 in 2 weeks! We are heading down to the Big Smoke next weekend to celebrate with all the family and hang out with his cousins, Nanas, Pops, Uncles, Aunts and Great Grandmas.

Cheeky monkey

Thats it from me for now. Mum duty calls and possibly some sleep…

btw if anyone can remind me how to post youtube vids I would be most grateful….it’s fallen out of my brain……

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.

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!

 

 

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

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!