New Purchases

Peter Alexander Wide Leg pants for the hospital

Peter Alexander Long Pants for the hospital

3 x Lovable feeding singlets for the hospital

3 x Lovable Maternity Feeding bras... Very sexy...

1 x Country Road newborn onsie for the hospital

1 x Country Road beanie for the hospital

1 x Country Road baby blanket for the hospital

Renovation Update

Had a jam packed day today.

Woke up to cherry pickers beep beep beeping downstairs at the wharf, clipping trees at 8am. Blergh. They woke up both Abi and me. James worked from home today and was already awake.

We headed off to Prospect to sign off on the new kitchen and bathroom vanities so they are starting the cutting tomorrow.

Then we drove to Mum's house to drop off a car load of stuff from the apartment to de-clutter before baby comes. I feel better knowing I can move around the bedroom now, without tripping over Christmas presents in gift bags and boxes of Abi's old small clothes.

A quick lunch stop in the Hills, then headed to the new house to inspect the progress and make a few decisions about things. It was super hot and I always feel sorry for the boys working in the house. I know they are probably used to the heat.

Here are some photos of the new house, it's really coming along and although I have distanced myself from the renovation, because it was getting WAY too stressful, I was super excited when I left the house today. I can't wait to see the final project and then move in!

This is the spare room. It's quite small but looks better after a clean out.

Spare room wardrobe. Not sure if we will keep this current set-up or buy something from Ikea to replace it.

New bath in the main bathroom. Waterproofing finished too which is what you see. The colour of the walls will change.

Waterproofing finished where the vanity will go in the main bathroom.

This will be the nursery. Lots of work still to do.

This is my HUGE butler's pantry. Currently where I am standing will be a long island bench in the kitchen. All my appliances will be in the pantry with lots of shelves and bench space.

The double shower in the master ensuite. We will have a rainshower head above as well as a hand held shower too. I love double showers!

Waterproofing finished in the master ensuite. We will have a double built in vanity here with a new window too.

This small bedroom next to the master ensuite will now become the walk in robe. Not much work done on this room yet.

This is the 1st thing you see when you walk into the house. This is the formal living area but we aren't sure what we will do with this room. I'd like a stand-alone fireplace here eventually. And possibly bi-fold doors which will lead outside.

This is the view from the front door. Formal living on the right, and the main part of the house in the middle. It looks much smaller in photos. The room is quite long and open.

This is another spare room which I will use as my study. Yes, my own study. James has a seperate studio located at the side of the house.

Here is Abigail's playroom. I'm standing in the middle of the room, so you can imagine how big the full room is. That end doorway leads into a large sized storage room.

Abi's room with her ensuite in the background.

Taken from inside the storage room at the end of the house. Nice big windows to let the light in =  no mouldy anything!!

New back fence which had to be replaced. It had a huge hole in it and we could literally see into our neighbours yard. The garden needs ALOT of work.

View from Abi and Jnr's playroom into the yard. The pool is a lovely shade of green because the pool pump broke years ago and the old owner never bothered to fix it. So god knows how long it's been since the pool was cleaned. We are draining the pool, doing a full acid wash and also buying a new pump!

Flashback - July 2008

I'm feeling very maternal today and looking at photos of when Abigail was born. I can't believe in a few weeks, I will have another newborn again.

I'm a little nervous about giving birth in Australia. Abigail was born in Singapore and my birth experience over there was fantastic. The level of care, the amount of attention, support and advice I received was outstanding.

I have heard horror stories of maternity wards, cravy midwives and lazy Obgyns but I know I am in good hands. My Obgyn is very qualified and respected. I feel very confident in his hands.

Here I am, in Abigail's nursery, the night before she was born. I loved that blue tee. I wore it everywhere in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the local Singaporeans loved it too.

Here is Abigail, 3 days old. I look a mess of course, I forgot how little she was.

This is Abigail and I on discharge of the hospital. On my left was one of my favourite midwives who cared for me. On the right is the Head Lactaction Consultant who was fantastic. She was firm but supportive and understanding. The language barrier wasn't much of an issue, the hospital I gave birth in catered for locals but mostly expats.



Lotus Flower vs Single Ladies

I am a huge Radiohead fan. And on Saturday their new album, The King of Limbs, was released worldwide. I eagerly waited for my 1st listen and while I'm not 100% in love with the new sound, the 1st single is interesting.


Of course, nowadays so many people have so much time on their hands that hilarious videos get made overnight such as this.


Check out Thom Yorke dancing in his new film clip Lotus Flower, dubbed over Single Ladies by Beyonce. Yes, it's silly. But I'm pregnant and bored. And it doesn't take much to make me laugh at the moment.

Story Time!

Here are Abigail's current favourite books. We are big fans of Dr Seuss in our house!

The Bears Holiday is a tale about Baby Bear learning all the important things about going on a holiday to the beach. Papa Bear teaches Baby Bear some safety rules on and off the land. Abi's favourite part is when they go underwater to explore and encounter a grumpy whale.

This is a fantastic book to read. The illustrations are fantastic and the story has a great blend of rhythm and repetition. The story is quite wacky but Abi seems to love it even more with every read. Highly recommend this book.

We have been reading this book for a few months now. Only recently has Abigail really understood that there is a real baby in my belly. She knows this story word for word. Her favourite part is when they talk to the baby through the imaginary "tummy telephone". Abi has now insisted we do this with my belly and we often talk to the baby throughout the day, telling him all about life outside the womb. My favourite part is when the little boy in the story is impatient and wants to meet his little brother but the Daddy insists that "the door is closed rather tight". Haha, what a way to put it, Mummy's cervix is CLOSED!

Wanted: Be@rbricks

I have quite a few Be@rbrick figurines and would love to add these cool guys to my collection. Abi would love them just as much as me, I'm sure.

Flashback Friday.

Fleetwood Mac - Landslide


I was fortunate enough to see Fleetwood Mac live in Sydney in 2009. Stevie Nicks is a living legend. She is amazingly talented. I cried when they sang this song, one of my favourite FM songs, Landslide.


Happy Friday everyone,


xxx

Song of the day

My favourite song from a great Australia film, Somersault.


Im lucky enough to have seen Decoder Ring play live a few times and they are spectacular.


I love the town of Jindabyne. I have visited this town every year for nearly my whole life. It's the last town before some of the biggest skifields of NSW. The film was confronting and intense. The soundtrack was brilliant, every song had its place in the movie.

Valentine's Day Gifts

humongous plush heart

lil' smoochers cinnamon candy

pasta boobs

measure your love cups

heartbeater whisk



Flashback Friday.

Girlfriend - Girl's Life


Today's flashback is quite tragic I admit. But I was SUCH a fan of Girlfriend. Every girl my age was. This clip is just such a time warp. The lyrics are terrible. The outfits inexcusable. Dancing with a bunch of flowers? Hysterical.


Happy Friday everyone,


xx

Mon-Thurs

This week so far:

Monday:

Standard day. Didn't feel inspired for dinner, so as James walked in the door from work I asked if we could go to Pancakes on the Rocks for dinner. Off we went. Abi loved her Clown Face pancake with ice cream for dinner. I got the Bananarama dish which includes 3 pancakes with toppings and couldn't even finish half of the serve. The place was packed at 7pm! Who knew pancakes and ribs were so popular!

Tuesday:

Had a real crapper of a day. Drove out to the new house and dropped James off so he could do the current inspections and discuss progress. Abi and I headed to our soon-to-be local Woolworths to pick up 'a few things'. A few things turned into a full trolley load. Me, struggling to get around the aisle corners and yet still filling up with more things. My nesting instinct took over as I realised I needed maternity pads, lux flakes, and other things for the arrival of new baby. I struggled at the checkout, and even more so in the car park as I loaded up the car.

Went to my Mum's house which is a 2 minute drive from the new house and Abi played with Mum as I vented all my worries and concerns. Mum is the best, and just listened and gave advice. Abi was flustered and upset when we left her house. Picked up James from the new house and realised I forgot to buy pizza bases for dinner so back to Woolies we went.

After getting home and preparing dinner, I had a huge meltdown about everything. The house, the baby, feeling unprepared and unorganised, the apartment being so messy and cluttered, the renovations costing more than we could have imagined, I let it all out. It felt good to cry like a baby.


Wednesday:

Slept well after my big cry. But still felt anxious and stressed. Spoke to Mum again and vented some more. Had a quiet day at home and managed a 3 hour nap in the afternoon which was bliss. Abi slept for 4 hours, gosh I hope she still sleeps like this in a few weeks once the baby comes. Baby was SUPER active all day, kicking and rolling around all day.

My father-in-law who works right next door to our apartment block came up after work to discuss some things with James. I was preparing to make our dinner, home made pizzas, and boom, the braxton hicks contractions began. Nothing too serious to begin with, but then I realised they were coming every 5 minutes, and were quite painful. I didn't say anything to James for about an hour, then I told him and he got excited and curious. The BH contractions stopped after 90 minutes or so and I relaxed on the couch for the rest of the night. I am excited at the idea of going into natural labour soon but I want to make sure baby isn't breech or transverse. He feels transverse still, I can feel his head and it's right on my side, not down low. I hope he is trying to move head down. Only a few weeks to go before he runs out of room!

Thursday:

Slept in till 9am. Had my usual weetbix and milk. We let Abigail choose her own outfit today and she decided to she wanted to wear her Croc Snow Boots, because it looked cold outside. James was reluctant to let her wear them but I thought, let her be. She was definately channelling some Pamela Anderson with the denim and ugg boots. Went to the Good Guys in Willoughby to pick our kitchen appliances and a dishwasher. $4800 later. Good lord.

Went to Trend Windows and chose glass/window combinations. The sales guy was so morbid and depressing, someone who really hated their job. Came home and ate leftover pizza for lunch. Find the turkish loaf I bought 2 DAYS AGO is already mouldy and I can't use tonight to make home-made Sammy Burgers. Gutted. Then remember that I have a loaf in the freezer, HUZZAH! James went to get a haircut and Abi refused to sleep this afternoon. I've been on the IKEA website for so long that I'm going cross-eyed. In search of a grey fabric sofa from anywhere, so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way.


So that has been my week. Stressful with tears. Contractions. Having fun with Abigail. Pancakes and pizza. Woolworths and worrying. Knowing I still need to buy feeding bras, set up the bassinet, wash baby clothes, pack hospital bag, book haircut and colour before the birth, and waxing too. Ahhhhhh

Weekend Recap

Late Thursday night, my husband sugested we should head to the beach house on the Central Coast.  Friday morning, he had an early conference call with his boss in the States while I packed 2 overnight bags and off we went.


After a quick drive up the F3, we stopped in at Bateau Bay Woolworths and did some grocery shopping. Once we arrived at the beach house, into our cossies we were and headed to the pool. Abi is going through a phase of only liking the "baby pool" which is about 50cm deep and has a fountain in it. James and I sat in the big pool while she ran around cooling off. We finally coaxed her into the big pool but she held onto me for dear life.


The whole weekend was disgustingly hot but relaxing. We spent most of Saturday in the lagoon pool which has a beach-like entrance which Abi loves. We had cold showers. Applies lots of moisturiser and sunscreen and zinc.

Abi pondering

Abi giving me the 'stink eye'

Yesterday morning we all slept in till 10am, bliss. Then James and Abi headed to the beach and I relaxed on the sofa. Then I headed to the spa in the resort for an eyebrow wax and 90 minute pedicure. My feet are soft and my nails are bright orange! I loved sitting in the treatment room with my therapist talking about babies and beaches and girly things.  Most of the therapists know me at the spa because I'm such a frequent visitor. James and Abi met me at the spa lobby with an umbrella which was sweet because just as we walked out, a huge storm hit and I would have been drenched walking to the beach house. Abi ran home in the rain and loved every minute of it.

My bump + orange nails

Taken from our balcony. Just as the storm hit!

After my treatment, we drove home via the suburbs of Sydney to my parents house to say hello. We then all headed to the new house to see the weekly progress. New walls are being built, the butler's pantry frame is up and the plumbing is being attended to. We have an inspection tomorrow and I will get new photos then.


I'm 35 weeks pregnant today. I can't believe it. Sleeping is becoming difficult, my insomnia has ramped up a notch. So has my anxiety. But I know in a matter of weeks, my baby, my son, will be here. I can't believe it.

Photos taken on my iphone, so excuse the crappy quality.

Flashback Friday.

Shakespeare's Sister - Stay


This is probably my favourite song of 1992. The filmclip is abstract and bizarre. The song is the perfect love ballad though. Enjoy.


xxx

Boys Nursery - Bedding

Now that I have revealed the sex of our bub, I can post lots of BLUE things.

We loved the Dwell Studio cot sets when we shopped around to dress Abigail's cot. The designs were gorgeous and looked so lovely.

I've been looking at boys cot sets and am struggling to settle on just one design, I love them all. James likes the Transport or Owl set. I like the Skyline or Owl set. What do you think? Our cot is white with dark brown sides.

Skyline set

Owl Set

Transport Set

Transverse Baby

Here is my bubs. I can announce that we are having a BOY and we are all over the moon. Look at his little face! He looks just like Abigail did in the womb. I have heaps of 4D photos of her too. The cord is right near his face too, the detail is amazing, isn't it!

I had my 34+ week appointment this morning with my Ob/Gyn and again, everything looks fantastic. Baby is growing well, strong heartbeat and rolling around in my belly. But peanut has moved, from frank breech position to transverse. I felt alot of activity and kicks last Saturday and my belly changed shape. I'm convinced that is when he moved from breech to transverse.

So the diagnosis is the same. We are hoping baby turns in the next 2-3 weeks. After that, we aren't sure if baby will have the room to turn. I've been doing some stretches on all fours, and pelvic stretches too. My back and hips are loosening up alot. My hips are not aligned and my left side is KILLING me most of the time when I sleep or sit down with my feet up.

I had another blood test to check my iron levels and my anti-D levels too for my blood type. Hopefully no antibodies are present and my iron levels have increased.

Less than 6 weeks till my baby is here. I can't believe it. It's getting CLOSE!

Photos taken this morning on the balcony. The sun is out, and despite the heat, I'm really enjoying the last few weeks of summer.