TGIF

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This week has been a nightmare a shocker challenging on many levels.

Level 1 – Chanbe has been waking up at 5:30am. Shocker. Hubs and I are NOT morning people, and an early morning for us is 7am. 5:30? Not cool. I am hoping it’s just a phase, though, with daylight savings starting this weekend, and us going to Queensland for a week from next Friday, I feel there will be a few weeks of disrupted sleep. Oh, and the whole moving interstate thing in 6 weeks time – yeah, that’s going to be completely hassle-free!

Level 2 – Even though Chanbe is still 7 weeks away from his 2nd birthday, I feel he has already turned a corner into the “terrible twos”. I really hate that expression though, because you’re just really setting yourself for disaster. I prefer to use our friend’s expression, the “terrific twos”. I like the positivity that implies, and even though some days may be terrible, I like to think there is more terrific involved in this age group. Plus I think Chanbe is pretty darn terrific 🙂

Level 3 – Hormones hormones hormones. I have been super emotional and a bit of a mess for a few days now, and the tears have flowed on more than one occasion. Not only this, but with all the relaxin floating around my body, my muscles have been particularly achy lately, and I’ve had sciatica pain and pregnancy-related tennis elbow. Have you ever had tennis elbow? It is not a pleasant experience, especially when you can’t take anti-inflammatories for it.

So all in all, these things have made for a very cranky Wifey. Thankfully, I have a very awesome Hubsband who has been taking extra special care of me this week. I cannot tell you how much he has saved me these last few days, and it just makes me feel so grateful that I have found a partner who will always do whatever he can to make my life happier. And today, I am happier. Which is good, since I’ll be solo parenting again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

My highland goat (e-oat e-oat)

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Anyone remember that song from their childhood? No? Just me? Oh well. I had it playing in my head one sunny afternoon last week when we were invited to our friend’s farm to visit some baby goats. When I say baby goats, I mean baby goats. 4 of them were less than 24 hours old! I cannot tell you how much I love living in the country. I mean, where else would you get a phone call on a Wednesday afternoon, inviting you to give baby goats a cuddle and a pat?

They were way too cute for words, and Chanbe just adored them! 
 
 
 
He was so gentle with them and kept wanting to give them cuddles. 
He’s going to be such a good big brother 🙂
 
 

Spring time bubbles

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We are currently spending as much time outside, when the weather permits. It’s finally nice enough to pick flowers:

And do a spot of (much needed) mowing:
And get into some serious bubble blowing:
I love love love spring 🙂

Baking wins! Choc-coated mousse balls and strawberry soufflé

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No, mousse, not moose. (Weirdo.) And I’m not talking about the kind of velvety, light, fluffy mousse that would normally appear in this household on a whim of my Hubs. I’m talking about the kind of mousse that you ruin because you overcook the custard, and it becomes hard and thick and gluggy. Delicious, but not quite right. That kind of mousse. Hubs’ solution? Well, Hubs’ solution to most of life’s problems: dip it in chocolate! (Life can get messy around here!)

This is probably the most unappealing photo I could have taken of these delightful treats, as I had just taken them out of the freezer, so sorry about that. I rolled them into balls (yes, that was the consistency) and put them in the freezer for a bit, then dipped them in melted 70% dark chocolate. The one at the front left, I dipped in whole and the chocolate set quickly and thickly around the mousse, so for the rest of them I just used a spoon to drizzle the chocolate liberally over them. They were super rich, but super delish! A fail made into a success I’d say!

My second baking venture for the week was in aid of using the up 5 egg whites (after only using the yokes for the mousse) and since strawberries are cheap as at the moment, a soufflé was on the cards. I served these babies up for dessert with friends on Thursday night, after serving a very tasty Guinness Stew for dinner. I’ll let the photos tell you a bit more!

They looked SO impressive and were very light and fluffy and delicious. I actually forgot to put in half of the sugar, so they weren’t too unhealthy (only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole recipe) and it really didn’t need it to be honest. They were a real hit!

And for the trifecta, I’ve just pulled a dozen scones out of the oven to take to mums group this arvo. Hubs had a hankering the other day, so you know, 2 birds. Luckily they look amazing, so I won’t need to dip anything in chocolate 🙂 The recipe I use is super quick and easy (3 cups SR Flour, 1 cup lemonade, 1 cup cream; stir with a knife, add fruit bits if you like, cook in hot oven – about 220C for 12 minutes) and are great for when people pop in to say hi. Or when I pop out to say hi! Which I’m about to do. Laters!

My baby Baloo

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I’ve just named #2, Baloo. I’m not sure why – I have no real attachment to The Jungle Book, but it just felt right when it popped into my head today. We call Chanbe “Boo” a lot, so now I have a Boo and a Baloo.

Some things just feel right, you know?

See you soon little one.

You hang up, no YOU hang up…

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I used to really love talking on the phone. Then I became an adult, and now 80% of my talk time is with people I’d rather not be talking to. These people are not my family, or my friends. They are customer service (I use the term loosely) representatives and I’m sick of them. I know I can do most of my business on line, which I do, but there are some things that need to be discussed, and it leaves me reeling.

I’ve just spent an hour and a half of my precious “Chanbe asleep time” on the phone to 4 different organisations for various reasons, and now I’m feeling like nothing has been achieved. Yeuch. I sometimes get sick of being an adult, and all the responsibilities that come with it. I’m sick of dealing with Centrelink and credit card companies and and and…

And I’m very lucky that I am able to make a phone call and sort something out so “easily” most of the time. Hmph. Must be Monday.

On a different note, I tried to take Chanbe swimming at the local pool (indoor) this morning, and he would not have a bar of it! He got as far as ankle-deep with me right by his side, and just stood there, crying, saying “no? no? no?” in the very cute way he does. No amount of splashing or encouragement would change his mind. You know what this means? I’m going to have to go in with him. Time to psych myself up for t-o-g-s!

We must be doing something right

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The only food that Chanbe ever really asks us for is good stuff.

Agogo (avocado)
Jrrbrr (strawberries)
Ap (apple)
Brit (bread – that he helps himself to from the freezer, and eats it frozen)
Banana (banana) (duh)

My friend gave him a Malteser the other day (she asked if she could which I appreciated, but I really don’t mind since he never gets to eat that sort of thing normally.) He bit half of it off, ate that bit, and gave the other half to me. That felt pretty good actually. If only I had the same willpower 🙂

I don’t mean to sound self-righteous, or as if I’m a brilliant parent, I just like the fact that our son likes good food. It also really motivates me to eat healthy foods in front of him, to set a good example. There’s plenty of time for him to get stuck into the sweeter things in the cupboard!

The week that was

/ Renae / 2 Comments

Today is Sunday, the start of a new week. Thank goodness. We’ve had a bit of a rough time with Chanbe this week, with 8 sleepless nights in a row, a trip to emergency on Tuesday, and a general out-of-routine feeling for all. Each night from Thursday week ago, I kept thinking “this has to be the worst of it. Tomorrow he’ll feel better and tomorrow night we will sleep.” This didn’t happen until the following Thursday – his (and our) first full night sleep in a week. Every other night, he spent a solid 3 hours coughing, and the rest of the night thrashing around in our bed. It’s so hard to see your child unwell and not be able to do anything about it. I had taken him to the doctor twice, and was told that it was just “post-viral”. I’m not doubting the diagnosis, but that cough was just so horrible, and by Tuesday, I felt like something needed to be done, so we went off to the hospital in the hopes of seeing a pediatrician.

We were given some medication to hopefully help, and sent home with a bit of hope. The next 2 days and nights were still no good, but by Thursday afternoon, he had started to settle down a bit (which probably would have happened without the meds, really). Thursday night was bliss, and Friday he had a great day at childcare while I raced around to appointments I had postponed from Tuesday, including my 20week scan for baby number 2. I know, a really original name. Any suggestions? Hubs just suggested “second Chance” 🙂 Anyway, that scan went wonderfully well and (insert cute baby nick-name here) is growing beautifully. I’m glad I didn’t wear mascara as I got rather teary watching this little person on the screen for an hour. So amazing how much you can see in those scans. (And no, we are not finding out the sex.)

And yesterday ended our rough week beautifully, as we had a dozen people over for a BBQ and it was fantastic. The weather was BRILLIANT!!!!!! Friday? 13 degrees max, windy, overcast and miserable? Today? Overcast but warm. But yesterday? Absolute bliss – up to 22 degrees and sunny with no clouds and no wind. T-shirts and boardies weather my friends. Hubs gave me a big sleep in today (he’s the best) and a cooked brekky when I dragged myself out of bed at 9am (again, the best) and we are now just lazing around, doing a bit of tidying up, and just enjoying a quiet Sunday at home.

I feel it’s going to be a gooooood week!

Holding on too tight

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It took quite a while for us to get Chanbe into some semblance of a routine around his sleeping habits. As I’ve mentioned before, the first year of Chanbe’s life was filled with constant battles around bedtime, and 2-3 hourly wake-ups every night until he was just over 1 year old. We worked very hard to make his bedtime a more enjoyable experience, and by March this year, we were at the stage where we could say “ni-night” or “nap time”, give him a kiss and cuddle, put him in his cot, and walk out of the room. We would hear noises sometimes but they were joyful noises of our son being content, talking himself to sleep.

It was bliss. Correction. It is bliss. For the last week, the little guy has not been 100%, with temperatures and general crankiness around the clock. And the last 3 nights, he has not wanted to go to sleep in his own bed. No matter what we did, no amount of encouragement would persuade him otherwise. So he has been sleeping with us. And I use the term “sleeping” very loosely. He’s been sleeping okay, but we haven’t. And I don’t want this to continue. I don’t want this to become a habit. I don’t want all of our hard work to go down the drain. I don’t want to go back to the nightly battles.

I know that when he is unwell, we have to make some allowances, but when you’re in the moment – when he’s been crying screaming for half an hour every time you leave him in his cot; when I’m in tears because I feel like he’s never going to sleep again; when Hubs has to take him for an hour long walk to get him to sleep just a little bit (which we haven’t done in I don’t know how long) – it’s hard to get perspective. I know that he’s out of his routine, but I also know that it’s not the end of the world. I know that once he starts to feel better, he’ll be happier in his own cot. I just don’t know how long that will take him. And I have to be okay with that. I need to let go just a little bit. Deeeeeeep breaths Wifey, deep breaths.

Chanbe in a happier mood. Actually, this was at lunch time today. It’s not all bad 🙂

I don’t like yoga

/ Renae / 4 Comments

There. I said it. You know what I do like? The idea of yoga. I love the thought of stretching and feeling calm, relaxed and focussed, which are three things I rarely allow myself to feel, particularly all at once. Hubs and I did a 10 week yoga course 2 years ago, when I was pregnant with Chanbe, and we actually quite liked it. I liked the instructor – she wasn’t too hippy – and I really felt my flexibility improving, even though each week the moves would become a little more awkward.

But my friend invited me along to a yoga class the other night and I thought “why not!?” Why not? Where to do I start? The class went from 6:15-8:00pm, which you might think is great! I really got my money’s worth, right? Wellllllllll. Not exactly. The first 45 minutes we did 3 different yoga “sequences”, 2 of which the instructor didn’t want me doing because I’m pregnant. There are 2 of us in the class who are pregnant, and she didn’t offer any real alternative, other than “stand up and breathe while lifting your arms up and down.” In my class 2 years ago, the instructor would always have an “alternative routine” for me, and anyone who wanted, to do, which I really appreciated. It made me feel like I was still a part of the class instead of “the big pregnant lady who can’t do downward facing dog.”

So that was the first 45 minutes. And what did we do for the next hour? We breathed. We sensed the air flowing through our nostrils and into our lungs. The 2 pregnant ladies were told to “feel the air make its way down to your womb, where your baby is growing.” For an hour. Some of you may think this sounds amazing, but all I could think about was “I paid money for someone to talk to me about my nostrils??” Clearly, I missed the point of it all. Or rather, I get the point (dedicating time in your life to be still and present and focussed) but I just don’t enjoy it.

I’ve gotten to a stage in my life where I don’t feel like I have to pretend to like something because it’s good for me, or it’s cultural (like arthouse movies – BORING!) so I’m sticking with I don’t like yoga. At least for now.