Flynn and i hosted mothers group at our house this morning - and, to my delight, it actually went well. See, i had this dream last night that absolutely nobody turned up, so i was panicking just a little when, 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, nobody had arrived yet. But - phew!- people were just a little late because little babies dont like to let you get anywhere on time. They're either:
a) still sleeping when you need to go ( and you DO NOT wake them up )
b) needing a feed ( and you cant hurry a feed or bubs gets grumpy )
c) they do what is popularly known as a Number Three ( poo poo blowout! )
or d) its actually you running late because your just a frazzled new mum.
We only had a small group today ( Flynn and I and four other pairs ) but thats ok because I only have a small house. We live in a 2 bedroom duplex which, although its kinda on the small side, suits us just fine. For now. Lately i've been daydreaming about the time when we can get a bigger place - a house instead of a duplex - and ( gasp ) having another baby. Yep, Flynn is only four and half months old and i'm already daydreaming about another bubba. Is that weird? Even with the trouble he's been having with his digestion ( which we are going to see the paedatrician for on Monday... ) the last four months have just been such a delight, i cant imagine having only one. And i've always wanted to have at least two, possibly three. Of course, when i mentioned all this to Mick he kind of went white.... thinking about another baby so soon kind of sends dudes into an internal mini-meltdown.
So watching my son interact relatively well with other babies ( i say relatively because he did have a little sook for a while there ) - the little people we already refer to as his friends - just makes me think what it would be like having two kids to look after. Two boys or one of each? How jealous would Flynn get? Would he be a good helper? Is he gonna share? Lord, the things that go through my head and, in reality, another baby is at least 2 years into the future. One thing i know for sure - that bubba is gonna be loved....
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
I'm Drowning!
Not literally of course - if i was, there would be no way i could get word to you guys via the interweb from underwater.
What i mean is i'm drowning in a sea of washing and its kind of annoying me ( although i can still make time to blog about it... ). Its annoying me because its there, and its annoying me because its making my house look untidy and i want to fold it and put it away.... but its like i cant. I keep looking at it and its frusturating me because i sooooooooo wanna be this SuperHousewife and i'm so motivated to do it - until it actually comes time to fold the damn clothes and then i'm all like " Flynn needs me " or " I need a nap " or " Hey, those cookies are calling my name ". I mean, its so bad - i'm all caught up with washing the clothes so its not like i have a mountain of dirty stuff lying around, its just that the overflowing baskets ( two and bit... ) of clean stuff is making a total brothel of my house. Seriously, when i get off this computer ( Lori, i have a problem.... ) i'm diving straight into the washing.
In other news, this time of the TMI variety - my son is still, ahem, " backed up ". Its been 16 days since he went naturally, without any " prompting " by a doctor, and the worry is starting to do my head in. Sometime he's in real pain and screams for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, and thats kind of stressful. We've tried: plain water, prune juice, pureed fruit, a teaspoon of paraffin oil, massage, warm baths and now we're on a steady diet of carrot/apple juice along with booby milks. And ...nothing. Not even a skiddy. Anyone got any other suggestions?
And finally - its voting time! Head over to Blog This! and vote for me in this weeks challenge!
What i mean is i'm drowning in a sea of washing and its kind of annoying me ( although i can still make time to blog about it... ). Its annoying me because its there, and its annoying me because its making my house look untidy and i want to fold it and put it away.... but its like i cant. I keep looking at it and its frusturating me because i sooooooooo wanna be this SuperHousewife and i'm so motivated to do it - until it actually comes time to fold the damn clothes and then i'm all like " Flynn needs me " or " I need a nap " or " Hey, those cookies are calling my name ". I mean, its so bad - i'm all caught up with washing the clothes so its not like i have a mountain of dirty stuff lying around, its just that the overflowing baskets ( two and bit... ) of clean stuff is making a total brothel of my house. Seriously, when i get off this computer ( Lori, i have a problem.... ) i'm diving straight into the washing.
In other news, this time of the TMI variety - my son is still, ahem, " backed up ". Its been 16 days since he went naturally, without any " prompting " by a doctor, and the worry is starting to do my head in. Sometime he's in real pain and screams for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, and thats kind of stressful. We've tried: plain water, prune juice, pureed fruit, a teaspoon of paraffin oil, massage, warm baths and now we're on a steady diet of carrot/apple juice along with booby milks. And ...nothing. Not even a skiddy. Anyone got any other suggestions?
And finally - its voting time! Head over to Blog This! and vote for me in this weeks challenge!
Just Call Me Slummy Mummy
I’m suffering from mummy guilt. Or maybe I should make that housewife guilt, because its not exactly the mothering side that I’m feeling guilty about, but rather the taking-care-of-housework side. That is, I kind of feel like some things are getting away from me and that makes me feel like I’m not doing the best job I can.
See there is cleaning washing piling up all around me – some that needs folding, some that I’ve already folded and just haven’t put away yet; dirty washing to be done sitting in the laundry; I haven’t vacuumed the floors in well over a fortnight and I think my wonderful post-baby hair fall is causing my bathroom tiles to resemble a shag carpet. Even as I take 10 minutes or so to sit here and blog, I know I could be using this time to put away the clean dishes ( that Mick washed last night ) or fold some of that piled up washing ( most of which Mick washed on the weekend ). I also know that all those parenting and mummy magazines say that the dishes can wait – whats most important is me and my baby – but I cant help but feel that bad that my house does not look like my mothers house, or at least the way I remember my mums housing looking when I was a kid.
Granted, my mum also let the clean washing pile up ( so maybe that’s hereditary ) but as far as I can remember Mum always had the carpets vacuumed, the furniture dusted, the dishes washed,dried and put away and had everything ready so that when Dad got home he could cook the dinner ( yep, my Dad did most of the cooking. He’s just better at it then my mum ). I know my mum had the whole “ it’s a womans work “ thing ingrained in her brain by my grandma and believe me, I don’t want to be some kind of weird Stepford wife, living only to please her husband. But I feel like Mick deserves a nicer, neater house than what I keep it, and I feel like I’m letting him down in someway. He says I’m not and, besides, I make him awesome muffins… but still, I just feel like I could do better.
So tell me other mums – and not-mums who manage to keep everything in order: how do you do it ? And, if like me, your in slummy-mummy territory, how do you feel about it?
See there is cleaning washing piling up all around me – some that needs folding, some that I’ve already folded and just haven’t put away yet; dirty washing to be done sitting in the laundry; I haven’t vacuumed the floors in well over a fortnight and I think my wonderful post-baby hair fall is causing my bathroom tiles to resemble a shag carpet. Even as I take 10 minutes or so to sit here and blog, I know I could be using this time to put away the clean dishes ( that Mick washed last night ) or fold some of that piled up washing ( most of which Mick washed on the weekend ). I also know that all those parenting and mummy magazines say that the dishes can wait – whats most important is me and my baby – but I cant help but feel that bad that my house does not look like my mothers house, or at least the way I remember my mums housing looking when I was a kid.
Granted, my mum also let the clean washing pile up ( so maybe that’s hereditary ) but as far as I can remember Mum always had the carpets vacuumed, the furniture dusted, the dishes washed,dried and put away and had everything ready so that when Dad got home he could cook the dinner ( yep, my Dad did most of the cooking. He’s just better at it then my mum ). I know my mum had the whole “ it’s a womans work “ thing ingrained in her brain by my grandma and believe me, I don’t want to be some kind of weird Stepford wife, living only to please her husband. But I feel like Mick deserves a nicer, neater house than what I keep it, and I feel like I’m letting him down in someway. He says I’m not and, besides, I make him awesome muffins… but still, I just feel like I could do better.
So tell me other mums – and not-mums who manage to keep everything in order: how do you do it ? And, if like me, your in slummy-mummy territory, how do you feel about it?
Mi Casa es .... Umm, How Do You Say Baby In Spanish ?
I’m nesting. Kind of like a giant, watermelon-bellied bird.
Yes, until now I’d always thought it was an old wives tale or one of those funny things pregnant ladies say to explain away their craziness, but I have the “ nesting instinct “, and I have it bad. Basically, its this intense feeling of wanting to clean and rearrange and generally get my house for ready for the arrival of the baby. Like I said, I’d heard of women saying they were nesting before and I just thought it was a load of clap trap. But over the course of the last month or so this need to have my house in tip-top shape has taken hold of me – and its getting worse. Its not just cleaning ( that’s how it started ) – its decorating too. I purchased my little duplex earlier this year, and moved in back in July, but its only now that I’m obsessed with having all the decorating finished.
Mr Gil and I have spent a good amount of time in the last two weeks painting. Its with good reason – the previous owners had thought it a brilliant idea to paint the walls garish, circus clown colours and, pregnant or not, there is no way I could live with a Kermit the Frog green bathroom. ( I would find a Kermit the Frog bath mat appealing though ). So now all the walls in the living area are a nice, neutral sandy/green colour, with a slightly darker hue for the architraves. I’ve made it my personal project to paint all the doors ( the same colour as the walls, only in a gloss paint ) and I only have three doors to go. Mr Gil is fervently working on the baby’s room – and knowing that we are having a boy guess what colour we went with ? Blue – yes, no-one could ever accuse of being original. I liked a seafoamy green colour but Mr Gil was set on the blue, so blue it is. It’s a lovely aqua blue and the trim will be a darker navy colour and we’ve ( ok – I’VE ) chosen to go with white furniture.
I never knew decorating my home would get to me so much. Sure, I knew what paint colours I was and wasn’t willing to live with, but I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally attached to the choices I would be. I want the house – my first own, non-rented piece of property – to be an extension of me. A visual interpretation of what image I have of myself, and want others to have of me. I want to say “ of us “ because we’re almost a real family now, the three of us ( Mr Gil, The Bump and me… ) but aside from really wanting to have blue in the baby’s room, Mr Gil has been happy with my décor suggestions. Or at least, he hasn’t voiced any objections. So I’ve gone with what I like, whats “ me “ and i’m just hoping in some way its “ him “ too, and he’ll be comfortable living with neutral paint colour and black and white photography on the walls. I want our space to be classic yet contemporary, but I don’t want to feel like I’m living in some kind of art museum. You know ?
Maybe you don’t. All I am sure of is that there is crazy, overwhelming desire within me to get it all finished before the baby arrives. Its not just some idea of practicality – “ It’ll be much easier to do it before we have a crying baby to look after “ – but more of a “ I cannot possibly be a good mother unless my walls are painted/pictures are hung/bathroom is sparkling !!! “.
Yes, triple exclamation mark – its that nuts.
Yes, until now I’d always thought it was an old wives tale or one of those funny things pregnant ladies say to explain away their craziness, but I have the “ nesting instinct “, and I have it bad. Basically, its this intense feeling of wanting to clean and rearrange and generally get my house for ready for the arrival of the baby. Like I said, I’d heard of women saying they were nesting before and I just thought it was a load of clap trap. But over the course of the last month or so this need to have my house in tip-top shape has taken hold of me – and its getting worse. Its not just cleaning ( that’s how it started ) – its decorating too. I purchased my little duplex earlier this year, and moved in back in July, but its only now that I’m obsessed with having all the decorating finished.
Mr Gil and I have spent a good amount of time in the last two weeks painting. Its with good reason – the previous owners had thought it a brilliant idea to paint the walls garish, circus clown colours and, pregnant or not, there is no way I could live with a Kermit the Frog green bathroom. ( I would find a Kermit the Frog bath mat appealing though ). So now all the walls in the living area are a nice, neutral sandy/green colour, with a slightly darker hue for the architraves. I’ve made it my personal project to paint all the doors ( the same colour as the walls, only in a gloss paint ) and I only have three doors to go. Mr Gil is fervently working on the baby’s room – and knowing that we are having a boy guess what colour we went with ? Blue – yes, no-one could ever accuse of being original. I liked a seafoamy green colour but Mr Gil was set on the blue, so blue it is. It’s a lovely aqua blue and the trim will be a darker navy colour and we’ve ( ok – I’VE ) chosen to go with white furniture.
I never knew decorating my home would get to me so much. Sure, I knew what paint colours I was and wasn’t willing to live with, but I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally attached to the choices I would be. I want the house – my first own, non-rented piece of property – to be an extension of me. A visual interpretation of what image I have of myself, and want others to have of me. I want to say “ of us “ because we’re almost a real family now, the three of us ( Mr Gil, The Bump and me… ) but aside from really wanting to have blue in the baby’s room, Mr Gil has been happy with my décor suggestions. Or at least, he hasn’t voiced any objections. So I’ve gone with what I like, whats “ me “ and i’m just hoping in some way its “ him “ too, and he’ll be comfortable living with neutral paint colour and black and white photography on the walls. I want our space to be classic yet contemporary, but I don’t want to feel like I’m living in some kind of art museum. You know ?
Maybe you don’t. All I am sure of is that there is crazy, overwhelming desire within me to get it all finished before the baby arrives. Its not just some idea of practicality – “ It’ll be much easier to do it before we have a crying baby to look after “ – but more of a “ I cannot possibly be a good mother unless my walls are painted/pictures are hung/bathroom is sparkling !!! “.
Yes, triple exclamation mark – its that nuts.
( I Have No ) Marley and Me
Alright,yes - I saw " Marley and Me " over the weekend. Mr Gil came wandering in after being out for the morning and my sister had just started the DVD, so we all sat down to watch it. It was a pretty good movie i suppose - it was your typical feelgood, fluffy, chick type of flick, but this post is less about the movie ( and how Jennifer Aniston will always be so perfectly thin, even after having three theoretical children )..... and more about how i want a dog.
I mean, that was the basis of the story right ? Its called " Marley and Me ", not " My Wife and Me " or " My Love/Hate Affair with My Job and Me ". And Marley, for those of you not in the know, is the dog in the story. A quiet giant golden retriever dog. Who happens to be completely mental and not even close to trainable ( until the babies start coming and he settles down in his old age ). And all of his mishaps and misadventures only make him more loveable. I'm sure that if this were not a Hollywood movie and actual real life, you might get sick of a dog like Marley in his puppy stages. But its all part of the fun right?
I cant wait to have a dog again. Dogs are the greatest, arent they ? Even when theyre the chew-everything-in-sight, jump-on-your-lap-at-any-opportunity, dig-your-lawn-to-pieces type of dog, theyre still so much to have around. They love unconditionally, so even when you completely ruin that fancy meal you wanted to cook for your special someone, your other, furrier, special someone will lap it up like its came Gordon Ramsays own skillet. They promote exercise, and snuggles and afternoons in the park. And even though they smell bad and they expect you to clean up their crap, they only have to give you that cute " puppy-dog eyes " look and your heart melts for them.
Only five more weeks until i move into my new place, where the landlord happens to me - which, happily, means dogs are allowed. I'm tossing up between a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a Whippet.... oh, decisions, decisions!
I mean, that was the basis of the story right ? Its called " Marley and Me ", not " My Wife and Me " or " My Love/Hate Affair with My Job and Me ". And Marley, for those of you not in the know, is the dog in the story. A quiet giant golden retriever dog. Who happens to be completely mental and not even close to trainable ( until the babies start coming and he settles down in his old age ). And all of his mishaps and misadventures only make him more loveable. I'm sure that if this were not a Hollywood movie and actual real life, you might get sick of a dog like Marley in his puppy stages. But its all part of the fun right?
I cant wait to have a dog again. Dogs are the greatest, arent they ? Even when theyre the chew-everything-in-sight, jump-on-your-lap-at-any-opportunity, dig-your-lawn-to-pieces type of dog, theyre still so much to have around. They love unconditionally, so even when you completely ruin that fancy meal you wanted to cook for your special someone, your other, furrier, special someone will lap it up like its came Gordon Ramsays own skillet. They promote exercise, and snuggles and afternoons in the park. And even though they smell bad and they expect you to clean up their crap, they only have to give you that cute " puppy-dog eyes " look and your heart melts for them.
Only five more weeks until i move into my new place, where the landlord happens to me - which, happily, means dogs are allowed. I'm tossing up between a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a Whippet.... oh, decisions, decisions!
I've Been Stimulated
Ah.... the global economic meltdown. I'd like to say that you amuse me, but truth is... you dont. I dont think your amusing anybody, not even rich fatcats sitting up in their mansions because they're losing money along with everybody else. Truth be told, i'm not doing too badly - i have a good, stable job and i dont have any investments dragging me backwards. Plus, i've just received a nice little monetary gift ... courtesy of Uncle Kevin Rudd.
High Definition TV?
I dont really need the new phone, and although i would die to be wearing gorgeous Louboutins ( i'd sleep in them i'd love them so much! ) i dont really need them either. I am actually tossing up getting a TV to replace my old flat screen but im going to wait til the price is right. So where will my K.Rudd money being going ? For now, into my savings account. Boring, i know, but until i can decide exactly what i want to do with it - tearing down a wall in my new house or investing in a new piece of furniture being two other seriously considered options - i'll be keeping a good hold on it....
Who , you say ? Uncle Kevvie or, as you non-Aussies may know him ( if you've heard of him at all ... ) Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia. Thats right people, the Australian government is giving money away and i've got me some! If you're an Australian taxpayer who earned less than $100 000 last financial year ( uh, yea... i'm waaaaaay under the qualifying mark ) the government will give a $900 cash injection. The idea is that everybody takes their " free " $900 and spends it, thus stimulating the Australian economy.
Question is: what do i spend it on ?
High Definition TV?
Fancy new mobile phone ?
Sky high pair of Christian Louboutins?
I dont really need the new phone, and although i would die to be wearing gorgeous Louboutins ( i'd sleep in them i'd love them so much! ) i dont really need them either. I am actually tossing up getting a TV to replace my old flat screen but im going to wait til the price is right. So where will my K.Rudd money being going ? For now, into my savings account. Boring, i know, but until i can decide exactly what i want to do with it - tearing down a wall in my new house or investing in a new piece of furniture being two other seriously considered options - i'll be keeping a good hold on it....
The Horizon Has Been Defeated
For now.
So, I put in an offer on a property today .... and it was turned down. I put in a deliberatly low bid ( thats the way you play these thngs after all.... ) but still it was a little disheartening to be knocked back. But no worries, i plan on putting in another, slightly higher offer tomorrow. Of course, I've never actually tried to buy a house before so I'm not entirely sure of the processes of house hunting, but what i do know is i like the house i inspected today. It's relatively small - two bedrooms, but its still a whole tonne bigger than most shoebox apartments in major cities. Its also 58 years old, but its been nicely refurbished on the inside so i'd barely have to spend a dollar on improvements if didnt want to. So I guess all is not lost - i still have another chance and if that offer gets turned down i have a few more thousand dollars to play with before i have to admit Game Over. Wish me luck ?
And you know what gives you luck ? Or rather, what pays you back in awesomely good karma ? Giving to charity, thats what. Which is exactly what i did today - I donated some canned goods and new toys to my companys annual Christmas appeal. Each Christmas we try and gather small donations to give to a local charity and this year nobody had given anything yet. So i decided to set a good example and get the ball rolling by using the spare cash i had in my wallet to buy some non-perishable food and two small toys. I opted for a Barbie doll for the girls ( i always a Barbie kind of girl, as opposed to playing with "baby" dolls ) and a Transformers action figure for the boys. I, of course, made sure to get an Optimus Prime because everybody knows Optimus Prime was the bomb ( followed closely by Jazz ). Hopefully seeing our basket now has something in it will encourage others to give aswell. I'm not going to mention what the donation cost me but suffice to say it was probably more than some families can afford to spend for themselves. So now i get the good karma of having done a good deed, a satsifying good feeling and some family somewhere gets a little bit of a brighter Christmas. And isnt Christmas the season of giving ?
Oh, and in case you didnt read between the lines there, this is me now actively, officially and very obviously asking you to give something - time, money, food, toys, whatever - to someone in need this Christmas. Charity should be a year round activity, but if your only going to be proactively charitable once a year, why not make it during the holidays?
So, I put in an offer on a property today .... and it was turned down. I put in a deliberatly low bid ( thats the way you play these thngs after all.... ) but still it was a little disheartening to be knocked back. But no worries, i plan on putting in another, slightly higher offer tomorrow. Of course, I've never actually tried to buy a house before so I'm not entirely sure of the processes of house hunting, but what i do know is i like the house i inspected today. It's relatively small - two bedrooms, but its still a whole tonne bigger than most shoebox apartments in major cities. Its also 58 years old, but its been nicely refurbished on the inside so i'd barely have to spend a dollar on improvements if didnt want to. So I guess all is not lost - i still have another chance and if that offer gets turned down i have a few more thousand dollars to play with before i have to admit Game Over. Wish me luck ?
And you know what gives you luck ? Or rather, what pays you back in awesomely good karma ? Giving to charity, thats what. Which is exactly what i did today - I donated some canned goods and new toys to my companys annual Christmas appeal. Each Christmas we try and gather small donations to give to a local charity and this year nobody had given anything yet. So i decided to set a good example and get the ball rolling by using the spare cash i had in my wallet to buy some non-perishable food and two small toys. I opted for a Barbie doll for the girls ( i always a Barbie kind of girl, as opposed to playing with "baby" dolls ) and a Transformers action figure for the boys. I, of course, made sure to get an Optimus Prime because everybody knows Optimus Prime was the bomb ( followed closely by Jazz ). Hopefully seeing our basket now has something in it will encourage others to give aswell. I'm not going to mention what the donation cost me but suffice to say it was probably more than some families can afford to spend for themselves. So now i get the good karma of having done a good deed, a satsifying good feeling and some family somewhere gets a little bit of a brighter Christmas. And isnt Christmas the season of giving ?
Oh, and in case you didnt read between the lines there, this is me now actively, officially and very obviously asking you to give something - time, money, food, toys, whatever - to someone in need this Christmas. Charity should be a year round activity, but if your only going to be proactively charitable once a year, why not make it during the holidays?
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