december

I can't quite believe that the year that was- by far the most exhausting but also by far the best year of my life so far -is drawing to a close. I would never have believed that I could survive on so little sleep and that I could feel so truely, madly, deeply in love with someone who inflicts such sleep deprivation on me. Daddy, Miss T and I are going to welcome in 2013 with Aunty L and Uncle C- think casual bbq and 9pm fireworks. Not too crazy I know but I can already taste the champagne and that is all that matters really. I think Miss T wanted to cherish our last 2012 moments together so we had a little marathon last night, partying from 12.30-4, so Iv'e done my late night and I am looking forward to popping into bed be say...around 10pm...Miss T's party preparation is in full swing so I need my beauty sleep or sanity sleep rather...

Miss T and I would like to wish you a happy healthy new year. We are going to leave you with the photos from the decemeber challenge we embarked on- a photos a day. I tried my best to stay on task but there are a few days missing. Never the less I think the little collection wraps up 2012 beautifully.
It is as though we have been together for a life time. See you in 2013 xx

 

 

 

 

9 sleeps!!!

So it is as though I just woke up this morning and properly realised that it is Miss T's 1st Birthday in 9 sleeps! Why did no one tell me it was so soon. I just rang the party place to orgainse decorations and guess what...closed until Jan 29!!! So mass panic is setting in. I just said to my hubby 'oh no, why am I such a sh*t mum' and he said 'your not sh*t your just unorganised, which is funny for a teacher'. Thanks hubby so now I am panicking even more...And to top things off, lucky me got myself a tiny bit of food poisoning over christmas, so I am trying desperately to piece together an action plan but my brain feels like mush and I have zero energy going around. But no pity parties for me, I have 9 nights so minus today- 7 days to make this happen. I just googled themeing ideas and guess what, not such a good idea when you have nothing prepared! I just viewed hundreds of beautiful party's themed to the max and thought what lucky bubba's. So where do I start???? I am thinking about everything -all at once, decorations( lanterns or pom pom's or...), tableware( table cloths, jars, cupcake stands, plates, forks, spoons, straws, jars...), food( adult, kiddy, healthy, yummy), drinks( champagne for me...that's as far as Ive got), cake ( homemade, bought, both?!), lolly bag's...(and my hubby just asked 'can we play a war?!?!?!)

Yes yes you are probably thinking, don't lose sight of the bigger picture...You don't need to worry about that as it has only come into my conscious mind 9 days before her birthday...Something tells me this is going to be a common theme year to year...except I will certainly be calling the party shop pre-christmas next time! 9 sleeps to achieve my artistic vision, I better get moving...Wish me luck.

My mumma's christmas brunch table- so pretty, am I missing the gene?

I better make Miss T smile like this on her 1st birthday!

P.S if you run into a maniac woman it is probably me...back away is my best suggestion.

christmas spirit

Miss T and I have been getting in the Christmas spirit this week, belting out Mariah Carey and Destiny's child Christmas songs. I dare say I might just belt them out during the entirety of 2013, why wait till december for such fun! This morning we watched rage where the likes of Justin Bieber, David Bowie and Annie Lennox were also getting into the Christmas spirit and Miss T danced up a storm. Watch out Sophia Grace and Rosie here comes Miss T. We have almost been in training for tonight's extravaganza - we are heading to the carols!!!

Having a bubba has brought a magical dimension to this time of year and I'm loving it. I've always loved singing along to a bit of rage or video hits on a saturday morning and I must admit it has been a few years since heading to carols by candle light but now I have someone to share it with who has the same level of enthusiasm that I do...just perfect. So with 3 nights until Santa arrives and we get to spend our first Christmas with Miss T, I thought I would share with you 3 of my favourite photos from my December challenge. Enjoy and Merry Christmas xx

Day 6 Mirror friend- Where much of her smooching practice has occured.

Day 8 Dancer- Serious excitement for a trip to the beach. Love Miss T's zest for life.

Day 13 Frozen yogurt fun- Looks like Miss T and I share a passion already x

P.S If you dont know of Sophia Grace and Rosie, google them. They are amazing!

baby steps

I am absolutely not one of those mums who harp on about how skilled or clever their kiddies are, but Miss T has a way of making me forget she is only 11 months old. Sometime I look into her eyes and I see an old soul. Maybe it's her new found independence and confident walking...whatever is it, every so often I forget she is still a bubba and expect greater things.

The other week we visited Santa for the first time. Many babies are petrified of Santa but no, not Miss T. She smiled at Santa like they were old friends and looked at me as though to say 'It's no biggie mum, what's with the concern'. I was the nervous one, not knowing the etiquette. Do I say hi? To what extent do I introduce Miss T? Should I say whether she has been naughty or nice...

Miss T has no fear it seems..or has she? In the pool she is so confident we expect her to start doing freestyle laps and at the beach you could mistake her for a tri-athlete (albeit tiny one) the way she runs towards the shore. But the other day something brought me back to earth and stopped me in my steps. I was reminded of just how little and precious my little Miss T is...We went to buy her first pair of shoes and guess what it turns our she is terrified, no petrified of shoes. She is so scared at this stage I honestly think she will be a barefoot hippy for the rest of her life. She can hold the shoes no problem, but as soon as they veer towards her pudgy little feed its all over. Tears, screams, clenching into me for dear life. It is slightly heart breaking but also slightly hilarious...they are just shoes after all...Yep she may be walking, almost talking and oh so confident but I still have myself a bubba.

No fear!

Lots of fear!

bad mumma?

I was judged yesterday morning. I just know I was. I could feel prying eyes and when making eye contact with a mumma and her 2 kiddies I recieved no smile but more of a look of disdain. I thought come on lady, its nearly christmas and it's cute right? Give me a smile! Nope no smile was given...

I've been judges many times as a first time mum, and funnily each time has been for something that I swore I wouldn't do as a mum (naive I was!). Yes miss T is dummy obsessed and bottled fed. I almost feel I need to explain myself now once stating these facts but how ridiculous! Seriously my monkey is a thriving little being who couldn't have more energy or spirit if she tried.

So why was I judged? Oh for doing another of those things I swore I would never do...I popped Miss T in backpack harness, a cute little panda that she loves. Why? Because I've been dealing with a crazy walker who wants to do her own thing and at 11 months old she has less sense than I would hope for someone who wants to walk the land alone. So yes I popped on a harness. How terrible of me to make my day more manageable and my angel safer. (Gosh I wish some mumma's would be more supportive!!!) I don't mean for this post to be a downer and yes this is totally a first world problem and I was lucky to be supported by my own group of mumma's who assured me that soon enough we would all be ditching our prams and become the harness brigade...

Yesterday I was a little down about this moment of judgement and wasn't sure if I wanted to share it but today I am a little bit more 'glass half full' and philosophical and if I could have a conversation with this unknown mumma I would say ' hey if your kiddies didn't need harnesses good for you! If they arn't giving you greif now they sure will when they are 15! Then you will be needing more than just a harness...Ok perhaps that isn't to philosophical?

So for now it's just  Miss T, panda and I going on our daily strolls. I'l let you be the judge though...check out just how cute she looks walking with her little backpack. Bless her and her adventurous ways.

latest obsession

I thought you would all be thrilled to know that Miss T is no longer obsessed with my coffee cups...Ok so maybe it is only me who is thrilled but anyway...phew you say, well yes sort of...now she is beyond obsessed with stirring our coffees with a spoon. It has got more complicated it seems... And our girl is no silly billy, she isn't interested in her own cup, or the same cup as ours with water. No she wants to stir our hot coffee's that we so desperately need to drink. Gee it's hard work creating a human. I actually went without my usual sugar this morning (serious sacrifice!) to try and deflect my little miss stirrer. Maybe Miss T is doing me a favour, I'm sure I don't really need that sugar. No that isn't true, I desperately need that teaspoon of sugar like I need my caffeine hit. It all makes me wonder though- what next? Experienced parents I'd love your insight?

On a side note- I don't think Miss T's amber beads are doing their job very well.We are having a super unsettled week, I am almost getting used to moving to my second bed (manky mattress on the floor) for our nightly battles...I mean cuddles.Yes they may not be doing their job as Miss T chucked them behind the couch a good 3 weeks ago and I have on most days thought of them but am yet to retrieve them...bad mum!

Miss T practicing her stirring all day long

little miss smooch

I've created a monster I mean a smoocher...maybe even a monster smoocher!
How? I am not entirely sure. Maybe I have given Miss T far too many kisses in the last 11 months of her life? Is that even possible? (I mean who wouldn't want to kiss her soft little cheeks or pudgy little legs). Or was it my repetitive 'Give us a kiss sugar' that started this all off... Maybe it was her love affair with Apollo that has cultivated this behaviour...or maybe she was just born a smoocher. Either way I have little miss smoocher on my hands.

Miss T has been sharing the love for a while now. Daddy, Apollo and I receive some gorgeous kisses from dawn to dusk, but all of a sudden she is seriously obsessed with smooching! I mean every banal object in her immediate environment appears to be worthy. And now she has stepped it up a notch and her precious little playmates and their equally gorgeous mumma's have become the recipients. I am not just talking a quick little peck either, I am talking careful, gentle kisses along with sweet little cuddles. Miss T's playmates Master H and J seem a little perplexed to be honest, their little faces almost saying, gee this girl is pretty forward...

Don't get me wrong I love it, and I whole heartedly encourage such warm loving behaviour but as her mumma I am hoping she is getting it out of her system before she turns...say 14?



Where is all began

 

Miss T sharing the love with Master H and J

a photo a day

This morning I thought I could tell you all about our two horrendous nights over the weekend in sweltering hot 35+ degrees- where the whole family (mumma, dadda, Miss T and occasionally Apollo) slept on a since mattress on the floor of Miss T's room trying to find some relief from the portable aircon purchased in a frenzy...serious chaos that included finding Miss T sleeping no longer on the mattress but on the carpeted floor under her cot?! ( bad mumma!!!)  but I sort of feel like I want to dwell on the good and steer away from the bad. Maybe because the kid finally slept last night (I seriously had myself convinced she had completely forgotten how to sleep) or maybe because is no longer 35+ degrees or maybe because I really don't want you to think I am a bad mumma...

so instead I am going to tell you about a little challenge Miss T and I are participating in for the last month of 2012. I thought it would be nice to document the end of Miss T's first year and I saw this idea on a fab blog I follow (bumpyroadtobubba)...so our challenge is a photo a day for the month of December. We may continue it until January the 5th as this will take us to the beginning of Miss T's second year (seriously unbelievable!). Here's a sneak peak of day 1. Miss T's puppy love is not restricted to Apollo it seems...

Day 1- 'Puppy Love' (14 year old Bali was not so fussed on the attention from Miss T)

sparkle

Some days just seem to have a little sparkle about them. I mean today is actually quite gloomy outside but everything seems to be shiny in Miss T and my world. This morning Miss T was reunited with her beloved Lambie thanks to our lovely local courier man- who clearly knows us to well?! - as he ran after the hubby to give him the package when he saw him driving off for work. Seriously cute! It was as though he knew these were special. The hubby called me to run out and collect the multiple lambies and I was like a kid on christmas morning. So excited.

After Miss T and Lambie were reunited we headed to see my Nana Bub, Miss T's great grandma. As their hands locked and eyes sparkled at eachother I thought, how incredible that two woman separated by 84 years of life could link and unite so perfectly. It was as though Miss T (like the courier man) instinctly knew that this was a very special moment for both me and Nana. I shouldn't sugar coat the whole day- we did have to leave somewhat hastily when Miss T decided to have a 'wee' tantrum, non the less it was sparkly morning... So Miss T and I headed to the shops for lunch (which were p.s slight chaos and its not even december). Miss T spilt my coffee while I inhaled my food and after lunch as we descended into the toy shops Miss T was a little sad (putting that mildly !!!) she couldn't have ever toy in the store. I on the other hand was thrilled to buy Miss T her first christmas present. I thought Miss T will never really know how special this moment was for me...yes Christmas chaos, tantrums and the shops and I was thinking I always wanted a little bubba and now I had one and here we are about to spend our first Christmas together. See its all sparkles.

As I am finishing up this post Miss T is in her cot chatting away with Lambie- catching up on news I presume- rather than sleeping. On a less sparkly day I would find this frustrating but today I find myself sitting on the couch with a cup of hot tea thinking, oh how gorgeous! So Miss T's sparkle is Lambie, My sparkle is visiting my nana and buying Miss T her first ever christmas present and Nana's sparkle is seeing Miss T. What a nice little circle. I would love to hear what your sparkle is on this day?

I lost lambie

Yep I lost lambie and it is not the first time...Lambie is Miss T's plush lamb with gorgeous long ears, snow white fur and lovely vintage detailed ears and Lambie is her sleeping buddy..just gorseous is Lambie and now she is gone.

As I know my hubby is an active viewer of my blog (yes bless him for his support) I will not disclose exactly how many lambie's there have been. Lets just say there have been a few. A few bunnies and lambie's in fact and I am starting to wonder when the 'Mumma' gene is going to kick in that makes me supper efficient in collecting all of Miss T's items? Every mum I know seems to have this gift, well except me. Unfortunately when I delivered Miss T I simply did not aquire new found cooking, cleaning, organisational skills. I delivered Miss T and I was still just me.

So now we have no lambie. Luckily for me Miss T is at a point where she can easily go to sleep without her Lambie (mainly because her obsession with her dummies overiddes all) but Lambie is the first friend she likes to say hi to in the morning, so the guilt I feel at the moment as a mumma is huge. When we walk into her room first thing every morning we see Miss T searching busily for her little pal and with a sparkle in her eye she looks at us and excepts us to produce Lambie from her clever little hiding place. We are going to have to endure a few more mornings of dissappointement for poor Miss T until Lambie number??? arrives at our door step. So as I am yet to develop this mumma gene I so desparately wish for, I have instead invested in a bank of  lambie's that will hide in Miss T's chest of draws...I will never again let Miss T go Lambie free, I vow this as her mumma.

self inflicted disaster

Last night was an official self inflicted disaster...and I mean disaster. Poor Miss T seemed to be having night terrors that kept waking her up. The poor cherub was waking from her slumber in absolute hysterics. After we resettled a few times...ok after we resettled ONCE being the smart Mumma that I am I thought, I just want to cuddle my little monkey. (because clearly it is all about me!) so I picked her up and brought her to the lounge room. The lounge room with all her favourites, Daddy, Apollo and the TV. Yes what was I thinking??? This wasn't what she needed...this was that I needed. I snuggled into her soft little face with her tiny arm wrapped tightly around my neck and I loved it. As insane as it is I have been missing our night time affairs. I'm pretty sure I told the hubby that I wished I could boot him out of the bed and snuggle with my girl all night. Be careful what you wish for!!! While I saw an opportunity for cuddles the hubby saw playtime... In his defence he hadn't seen her since 9am that morning so with one little ' hi my little girl' it was on!

Fast forward to 2am and Miss T is still partying hard and the hubby is fast asleep of course! Nothing I do will make her sleep. She isn't upset, in fact she is singing and chatting the night away while I am equally cursing myself for taking her out of that bedroom and the hubby for revving her up. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time as in the dark of the night valuable sleep was being lost while Miss T had a great time pinching my nose and giggling. Miss T must have entered sleep not much longer after this, her little body planted by my side for the rest of the night. We woke to the sound of birds singing in the morning and she seemed pleasantly rested.

If I ever try to give you baby advise, please gently remind me that I have no idea. Disaster.


Morning mumma, good sleep?

Busy busy busy

While Miss T and I wait for the news of a dear friend who will be giving birth any day now I can't help but notice that something has changed. My beautiful girlfriend is about to start the mumma journey with a brand spanking new bubba and something has happened to my bubba. She has been replaced with this busy individual who I see going about her daily business. I've become somewhat of an observer. She has her schedule and she is sticking to it. Let me tell you she does not stop!

In my peripheral I see her walking, kissing (practically anything…lounge, dog, lambie, phone, they are all the same to Miss T and all deserving of a kiss), collecting, sorting, arranging...even answering the phone (which phone you ask…my phone, her play phone, lambie acting as a phone...let’s not worry about the details) with this cute little 'eeoo' which matches the tone of my own 'hello'. It looks like we are starting our next little chapter and I for one am not sure I am ready. I even got excited when she woke last night. I thought, Oh yay I can cuddle her like old times. It was lovely and cuddly but the 10 kg that is Miss T started to get just a little exhausting. I am pretty sure a newborn never felt so heavy.

I'm stoked but also slightly devastated that my little baby is growing up. As irrational as it is, I still would like to wrap her up and put her back in my belly where she belongs. But instead I have to endure her almost teenage like maturity. Miss T is so busy these days I am hoping a visit to the hospital to meet the new bubba will fit in with her schedule. I will have to wait and see…

the apple of her eye

There is no doubt about it, Apollo is the apple of Miss T’s eye and I say he deserves it. This poor boy didn't know what had hit him when we arrived home with our new tiny buddle of joy. And for last 10 months he has endured a heap of crying, many disturbed nights, a fair amount of prodding and poking and he lost his place in our bed…. He has had to learn to share his mumma (I do get occasion looks of jealousy that break my heart) and although he is still loved unconditionally the reality of Miss T has meant just a little bit less time for Apollo and a decrease in walks by…lets say 20%. And he has had no say in the matter. Like I said, he deserves it.

I must admit we were totally cool, calm and collected about introducing our teeny tiny new bubba to our 20 kilo+ big baby Apollo...that was until we arrived home. If you are a parent I am sure you know the feeling when you hop into the car on the way home from the hospital or the first time you arrive home and you think OH MY GOSH it is just us!!! It is almost laughable it is so crazy. No nurses, no buzzer, no friendly little man bringing tea around every half hour (I still miss this)...When we walked through the door I was almost frozen with fear and honestly thought how it this going to work….Well let me tell you it did. And it does swimmingly every single day.

My two little monkeys have become the best of friends and have already started working as a cheeky little team. It’s Miss T and Apollo against the world…or mumma rather. Apollo still gets the majority of the open mouth kisses, they are obsessed, I can’t stop them! They play ball with his disgusting rubber ball that makes me want to barf...again they won’t stop. It appears Miss T’s love is even more unconditional as she almost likes the doggy slobber…

Miss T has been feeding him from her high chair whenever she gets the chance but now they have stepped it up and she sneakily passes food below the tray, they both think they have mum fooled on this one! And now it looks like Miss T is starting to show an interest in taking on the duties of dog walker. Poor Apollo is chased around the house with Miss T trying desperately to get his collar on his neck and although she is making incredible progress with her walking (we are up to 8 steps at a time…too cute) I fear that it will be some time before she will be able to reward Apollo with the outcome he expects. But almost as though they are already scheming I can’t bare to leave him waiting for his walk so we inevitably all head out for a leisurely stroll. Your apple thanks you Miss T.

coffee with a side of construction

Miss T and I headed out for a coffee this morning. For once (well lately anyway) we had a lovely time. Ok that sounds terrible...many of our coffee dates are lovely but this particular one was without a tantrum as my weak skim latte arrived at the table and she was particularly happy and content sitting by my side. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the bulldozers were bulldozing?! Yes that's right! We enjoyed our coffee with a side of construction. Almost in unison we sat and they commenced excavation. And Miss T loved it. It made me laugh out loud and Miss T following her recently acquired social cues also laughed. So it was coffee, construction and laughter on this friday morning. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that I could actually enjoy a coffee accompanied by the chaos of a construction site. Never would I have believed that I could in fact love this coffee and that I would feel so calm and satisfied to have managed such a smooth experience on this particular morning...they can't say becoming a mum doesn't change you!

our obsession

Miss T's latest obsession and I mean OBSESSION is my take away coffee cups. This fixation has only appeared in the last few weeks. When I think about it this was bound to happen and Miss T really isn’t to blame. Since her birth Miss T has witnessed me drink a minimum of 2 coffees a day...by my calculations that's (I'm averaging here!) around 60 a month or at least 600 since she was born. Ok now I'm a little embarrassed... Not that I need to justify myself but it is my vice and I might remind you Miss T took 9 months to actually sleep…Anyway it is what it is. Perhaps next year I should try to cap my obsession to one a day... So anyway Miss T is obsessed and quite clearly I am also (so who am I to judge) but her little meltdowns are getting the better of me. I have been trying all sorts of tactics to deter the tantrums that are to follow, I have even been going to the lengths of washing my previous days coffee cup ready to give to her as I order mine. This has even failed. Why? Well because yesterday the cup was green and today it's maroon or white or black. This morning the hubby suggested that I collect a cup from each of my locals so that I have the full collection ready in my hand bag. At least I can sleep at night knowing my little lady is getting very good with her categorising of colours and shapes...Maroon and white cup featuring a very Florence Broadhurst inspired design today Miss T? No problem, I've got it!

P.S talk about coffee cups getting fancy! And if you can name the coffee brand of the cup described above then perhaps you are also obsessed!

nighttime swim

This is the third time I have done this. Run out of nappies entirely...well other than her swimming nappies recently bought for her first trip to the pool. Appropriate for bedtime? I mean I guess they would work functionally but I wonder about comfort for my little monkey. I know what you are thinking. Don’t I notice the nappy supply going down…No not really, one minute the basket is full then next minute I am thinking 'oh crap we are out of nappies'. Why don't I buy them online and in bulk? Firstly this would require thought and secondly the space to store a large quantity of nappies. Yes occasionally I am heading to the supermarket or chemist and think to myself, 'I wonder if we need nappies' but unfortunately this thought is almost always intercepted by 'Oh actually I might grab another takeaway coffee' or 'Oh how super cute are the new bonds leggings, better buy a pair’.

On the previous two occasions the hubby saved the day stopping by the local supermarket on his way home from work, probably also thinking, doesn’t she notice the nappy supply going down??? This time it was me arriving home at about 6pm from yet another ‘hens’ celebration. The first thing I heard as I opened our gate was ‘babe, have we run out of nappies?’ and the first thing I saw was Miss T and her cute little botbot playing on the floor. Hopefully Miss T will never have to go to bed in her swimming nappy...



Miss T's first trip to the pool,
Swimming nappy in correct habitat

security breach

Let's face it I was bound to fail on this one. My intentions were grand and of course I do know how important it is to safety proof our house for Miss T but each attempt to date (minus our baby gate) has been one massive fail.

Why was I bound to fail you ask, Well I purchased a fabulous ‘home safety essentials’ pack with over 50 plugs/catches/latches/locks to safety proof out house. Within it I discovered I had practically enough plugs to fill a 10 bedroom mansions. Miss T and I do not live in a 10 bedroom home. In our little mansion we have 2 bedrooms and I needed to use 7 of these plugs in total. This fabulous pack then sat in our tiny kitchen…I mean mansion of a kitchen… taking up space for another 2 months. One Sunday recently I harassed the hubby to help me sort out the house and this is when I discovered we could only use another 3 items. No joke! The remaining 40 catches, larches and locks were useless to us! Now I am sure others would find this pack useful. I do not blame the pack as I am sure it would have also been useful if I actually read what was in it.
 
Why else was I bound to fail?  Well the 3 items that I did use…3x multipurpose latches that I attached with confidence and satisfaction have not worked for their intended purpose. It appears that I have fastened them to the slightly wrong type of draw or cabinet or WHATEVER...is shouldn't be this hard!!!  How did I find this out? Miss T has essentially wondered around the house getting into everything  that is ‘out of bounds’. Today in particular has seen these ‘out of bounds’ spaces almost becoming little challenges or obstacle courses for my little lady. If she could speak, I am sure she would be thanking me for spicing up her daily grind. So it's back to the shops for me. Maybe Miss T is just too clever but I fear I have myself to blame!

shades of green

Its 7am Sunday morning, Both Miss T and I are feeling slightly shabby. Me from a hen's night out and poor Miss T from what seems like the beginning of a little cold. So here I am dealing with a snotty, squeely Miss T who obviously missed her mumma last night and who is therefore clinging to me for dear life. Even sipping a hot cup of tea is near impossible...And I cannot help but reflect on the week that was.

It was a week of replacing. Last night I replaced my regular Saturday haunt (couch, take away, hubby, movie and occasional intermissions of Miss T soothing) with a world of champagne, laughter, big hair, high heels and tiny dresses. I had a fabulous night out and loved every minute of it but I did have a moment in an ‘oh so classy establishment’ at about 1 am where I realised that the grass isn’t always greener. Give me the couch any day. I did my time and now it is bye bye big hair and short shorts! Ok who am I kidding I’ll keep the big hair.

During the week I replaced home mumma with working mumma. Again this experience was a nice reminder that my patch of grass is super green and something I hope I remember the next time I commence a whinge session where the hubby usually intercepts me with ‘seriously babe, is it really all that bad’. Miss T had a daddy/ daughter day on the Wednesday and the hubby assured me that it is in fact all pretty green. He said he would swap places with me any day. I spent the entire day on Friday convinced the universe was going to punish me for being a working mumma and that I would miss out on Miss T’s first steps. She has been so very close lately. At 5.50pm Friday evening, when the house was quiet and it was just me and my girl, Miss T took her first two steps. Yep I am all about the green on this Sunday morning.

New games with dad

who's got separation anxiety?

So today I replaced my role of mummy with my pre Miss T role of teacher. Why? Oh to spice things up a bit. Did I enjoy it... well you know it was alright but unfortunately there was A LOT of separation anxiety going on...for me anyway. Miss T had a fabulous time it seems hanging with her Yaya. While I clock watched, Miss T danced her day away.

At approximately 11am a sweet little student asked me, 'Are you enjoying your holiday Miss'. I almost laughed. I mean the previous 20 minutes sipping a hot tea felt more like the holiday he was referring to. Thankfully I took that extra moment to remind myself that he was only 13 and I was an adult....and how was he suppose to know I was on no holiday!!! Bless him I thought and replied, I'm having a great holiday thank you. (I might add that he had witnessed my ever growing belly the previous year).

Miss T and I reunited over dinner. I couldn't stop watching her, I swear she looked bigger, stronger, wiser. She had this confident look on her face as though she was saying 'what's wrong mummy, I'm fine, what about you?’

So smug!

ignorance is bliss

I swear I am not a bad mum. I have no qualms acknowledging that I am often a ‘no idea’ mum but I wouldn’t say I was a bad mum. Is it bad to enjoy just a few minutes of silence from time to time….Even if the apple of your eye is getting up to (a tiny bit of) no good? 

 

Lately I just can’t help it. The house goes eerily quiet, Miss T is nowhere to be seen and I just soak it up…my thoughts of  ‘just one minute, I'll enjoy just one minute’ simply override ‘Oh no, what is she doing’. Then I do a quick scurry around the house and tend to find Miss T in one of 3 places. The wardrobe rearranging my clothing (thank you darling), the kitchen systematically unpacking every baby wipe she can find, or in the bathroom unravelling and chewing toilet paper (her favourite!). It is only later that day when I am showing the hubby the evidence of our day and he questions 'And why is she eating toliet paper?' that I think to myself, should I have got to her sooner? Do I still have no idea?

 

By now I know I should know better... but I also know that my little bit of silence is just so rare and I figure my wardrobe is overdue for a cleanout, the baby wipes are often on special and the toilet paper...well I swear she only chews...

laundry monsters

I'm suffering from serious Mondayitis. I think Miss T is also. We are Miss and Mrs Grouch I tell you. Yes the sun is shining and all that, but today is getting the better of me and it's only lunchtime. Actually Miss T is more of a whinge pot...I'll be Mrs Grouch and she can be Miss Whinge pot... or perhaps she is just being a typical 9month old and I'm just not in the mood.

And to make matters worse we have all these laundry monsters appearing around the house. They are mocking me on this bright sunny day...You know those large piles of clothes that just keep on growing? Surely I am not the only one with laundry monsters? We have mumma in the laundry, puppa in our bedroom and bubba in the bathroom. Oh how cute we have a whole family! I do try to chip away at them but today they have also got the better of me.

About once a week I do a blitz. Mumma and bubba are often erased (usually to return within 24 hours) but puppa just keeps on growing. He is the biggest and often our own little obstacle course to get into bed. And today there is way to much mondayitis going around to even contemplate where to start.

No one told me I would be become a laundry lady. In fact no one told me I would become Mrs Grouch...I am a little embarrassed to give you a visual on our puppa monster but here goes! Judge me or don't! One day I will be a super mum and we will have no more monsters. When you ask?  Perhaps when we have a bigger laundry...or when it's not a Monday...

catching flies with chopsticks

We had our first trip to the hospital on Wednesday night. Miss T is absolutely fine but of course no hospital visit is fun. The whole experience made me realise a few things! Firstly no matter how much I have no idea about, I sure know how much I love my girl and how much I would move heaven and earth to keep her healthy, happy and pain free. And I am now an experienced hospital mum who knows that when they say we need to take blood and it is not negotiable that they are about to hurt my baby like hell!

We spend 6 hours at emergency and the majority of the time was spent trying to get a sample of her wee wee. It quite seriously almost sent me insane! The first sample (I'll refer to it as a sample so I don't turn you off reading this post) we missed! And the second never arrived. In this time to prevent me from loosing my mind I designed multiple FUNCTIONAL contraptions that would have collected the sample much more successfully that a tiny jar! I later learnt from a friend that such things do exist...hmm so why were we using a TINY jar? We were discharged on the instruction that we must see our GP in the morning.

We arrived at the doctors and my dreams of freedom were shattered. I was advised that we still needed that sample. My doctor likened the task to catching flies with chopsticks! Visualise that! As I am writing this post I am still on the pursuit to capture the fly. I have already missed one opportunity, Miss T flying??? all over one of her besties 'Mr Tang' (stuffed Orangutan not fellow baby friend). I mean seriously! This mission is impossible. 

So I know that I love Miss T beyond words and that blood samples hurt babies...what I still have no idea about is how to catch that bloody fly!

bloody teeth

Miss T giving the necklace a go

If I read another article that tells me that babies aren't in pain when they are teething I am going to scream. Miss T has her second tooth coming through and she has been screaming blue murder. I don't blame her, I reckon if I had a calcified structure cutting through my gums I would scream blue murder also. We are onto our second tooth in two weeks....So yesterday I went out and bought an amber necklace, it felt slightly like highway robbery (the cost being the reason I haven't bought one already) but I guess I don't know the properties of amber and I certainly do not know it's market value. Some friends swear by them and others are not so convinced.


Quite honestly if they sold sprigs of rosmary to tie on their little ankles like a roasting leg of lamb, I would buy it. At this stage I will give anything a go. So I'll see how we go.

Anyone have any thoughts on these gems?

the things we do for sleep

Manky foam mattress

I have spent the last 9 months trying to make Miss T sleep longer (or at all!) I have tried everything and when I say everything I mean everything...

patting, hushing, keeping her up longer, putting her to bed earlier (you don't want an overtired baby they say), feeding her more protein, gently teaching her to self settle, introducing a lovely (a soft toy for those non parents out there)...more patting and shushing, white noise apps, repetitive lullabies (more agitating that calming if you ask me), a total rearranging of her bedroom (I've got it she isn't sleeping because her cot is facing the window) and I even recorded our shower once as this seemed to be a rare place of calm so she could listen to the water flowing on repeat all night long. I could go on but I will spare you.

Nothing works! Miss T wakes like clockwork at the 30 minute mark ready to play. And at night well the real party begins. So what did I do differently in the last few days...

what we did has changed our world. Forget the above techniques, this is what works...Borrow from your parents a manky, foam single mattress that you are quite sure was the same one purchased 10 years ago for 'special friends' to sleep on when they stayed over and which your also quite sure is now being used by your little brother's 'special friends' when they stay over... That's right, pick it up, dust it off and get ready to enjoy your new place of rest on the floor of your bub's room. That is what I did and she decided to sleep through the night...
Thank you Miss T.

Another failed approach

puppy love

 
I taught miss T to kiss. That's what your suppose to do isn't it? An open mouth (occasional tongue) kiss that I could seriously be the recipient of all day long. I get the odd kiss, dad works hard for his kisses...then there is Apollo, now he has the highest quoter. Yes our big blue staffie Apollo gets all the OPEN mouth kisses....Terrific!

I guess she just loves her big brother!