I will miss the city

Currently - The April '11 Edition

Current Book(s): No new books this month. I am hoping for a new book for Mother's Day. My picks would be:

Current Playlist:

• Gypsy And The Cat - Sight Of A Tear
• Rockabye Lullaby: Coldplay - The Scientist. This goes down perfectly when Edward is crying in the car after a long day. He falls asleep immediately!
• Foo Fighters - Rope. The Foos are back and I likes it!
• Rockabye Lullaby: Kanye West - Stronger. This lullaby is awesome. Time to get my groove on in the nursery.
• The String Quartet (Tribute to Moby) - God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters. This song featured in the Big Love finale and I bawled!

Current Shame - Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Easter Eggs and hot cross buns. I'm actually glad Easter is over. I indulged but now it's time to curb all that surgery goodness from my diet.

Current Colour: We are choosing colours for the house. Grey for the sofa. Taupe for the walls. White for the shutters.


Current Drink: Water, Vitamin Water, Coke Zero and milk.


Current Food: Yoghurts, Up n Go's, Spinach wraps for lunch, avocado, iceblocks.


Current Favourite Show: United States of Tara is back and it's brilliant. Toni Collette is amazing. But the supporting cast is just as good. John Corbett is seriously hot.

Current Wishlist: A holiday. We *almost* booked a holiday to Hawaii in September but decided not to. I mean a real holiday too. Where I turn off my iphone, and James leaves his laptop at home... I wish!

Current Needs: Sleep. Clean sheets. A Woolworths gift card. A housekeeper to clean my forgotten floors.


Current Triumphs: I feel like I've overcome the big hurdle with breastfeeding. 8 weeks on and still going strong. Abigail is receiving lots of attention and special 1on1 time with me so I feel pretty happy about that.


Current Bane(s) of my Existence: Washing tiny swaddles and wondersuits and singlets. It's not a chore, but all I do is wash, wash, wash!


Current Celebrity Crush: David Beckham. He looked insanely hot at the Royal Wedding, he's a family man and an unreal athlete. S.E.X.Y

Current Indulgence: It was iced coffee and Starburst lollies but I just said goodbye to sugar yesterday. I will try and last a whole month without them. Fingers crossed!


Current #1 Blessing: A good friend. She knows who she is. I haven't had much help from family since Edward was born. James has been fantastic but apart from that, I've had little visitors or help. This special friend has been fantastic. Lots of support and an ear to listen.


Current Slang or Saying: I'm going to pump. Has he done a poo? What time is it? Where did I put my phone? (As you can see, I have MAJOR baby brain still!)


Current Outfit: Maternity singlets, Bonds tracksuit pants, Asos jeans, Le Sportsac Baby Bag

Current Excitement: One word. HOUSE. Ready this week. Cannot believe it.


Current Mood: Exhausted. Excited. Anxious. Short tempered. Overwhelmed. Underwhelmed.


Current Link:

• Freedom - for home accessories
• Domayne - for furniture
• Ikea - for bits and pieces
• Kidspot - recipes and articles

Current App:

• Baby Connect - great for counting diapers, milestones, health checks, vaccines.

• Oz Weather - I like to know my forecasts!
• Angry Birds Easter - lots of fun as always.
• Shopping List - great for writing and saving lists to do the groceries
• LineUp2 - great for when I'm feeding Edward at 4am and need to stay awake!

90 Years Young

Today we are off to Port Hacking in southern Sydney to celebrate James's paternal grandmother's 90th Birthday. What a milestone. Her name is Mary. She is the sweetest old thing. And such a trooper. She's had many ailing health issues lately but surprisingly continues to surge on. She will meet Edward for the 1st time today. Her party is being held at the local Yacht Club near the retirement home which she resides in.

I hope when I turn 90, I look like this... I can only hope I'm still rocking out in 2071.

Wedding Flashback

Today is a big day. Some people care, others don't. Me? I'm excited. I can't believe Prince William is getting married. Because he is a prince of my generation, I've always followed stories about him in the media. Heck, I've even wondered what it would be like to be a real bonafide princess. Well Kate Middleton will find out today. I'm happy for them both and hope their marriage is full of love and honesty and most of all, privacy!


Telle, over at FMS has inspired me to flashback to my own wedding, 4 years ago. I'd love to go back to my wedding day, I'd do a few things differently. I wish I took more photos and spent more time talking with everyone. The day whizzed past so quickly.


Here is my wedding:


Date: 2nd June 2007
Location: Hayman Island, The Whitsundays
Guests: 50
Weather: Tropical! Humid, overcast, rainy, sunny, windy, etc.
Wedding Dress: Designed by Karen Willis Holmes

About to walk down the aisle!

The vows

"We do"

My favourite photo from the wedding

The outdoor reception

Cutting of the cake. I didn't even get a slice, I was too busy running around. Dammit.

Top 10 Mother's Day Wishlist Items

To be honest, all I really want this Mother's Day is a sleep-in, something sweet and yummy for breakfast like pancakes, and lots of cuddles with my loves. We are going to Bathers Pavilion in Balmoral for lunch, the whole family, which will be an experience. 3 toddlers and 1 newborn in a fancy restaurant, lord help us!

Things are tight at the moment, trying to finish the renovations and furnish a big new house, but if money wasn't an issue, here are some things on my wishlist:

Bossypants - by Tina Fey from Amazon

Breville 'Ikon' Food Processor from The Good Guys

Breville 'Ikon' Juicer from The Good Guys

KitchenAid Stand Mixer in White from Home Depot in Castle Hill

Rain Clouds Wall Decal by Mae from Lark

Donna Hay 'A Cook's Guide' - from donnahay.com.au

MacBook Pro 17-inch from apple.com.au

Breakfast at my brother-in-law's new restaurant - Bondi Tucker

Onion Bag from Etsy

Gift Voucher from Howards Storage World



Busy Bee

I totes look like this. A frazzled busy bee!

I haven't been blogging lately. Adjusting to life as a family of 4 and busy finishing the renovations on the new house has kept me busy, kept me exhausted.

James is in Albury today, at his graduatation ceremony for his degree in IT. It was logistically too hard to take the kids, so he went with his parents. I'm sure they are as proud as punch. A slave for hard work and studying, James is half way though his 2nd degree, an MBA.

The house is almost ready. About 95% of the way there. Air con has been installed. Bamboo floorboards are being laid as I type, new paint is drying and the bathrooms are being sealed. The fridge, washer and dryer are being delivered tomorrow. Carpets being laid early next week, then, we will be in. We are moving some stuff in over the weekend. Fun times ahead.

This week I realised something... That on Saturday, it's MAY! Which means it's almost June, the middle of the year. Half way through 2011. It's impossible that 6 months can pass so quickly. I need time to slow down, not to stop, but to tick by slower. I feel out of control at the moment, so many things on my plate. My concentration has been dim, my temper short, my eating habits terrible and overall speaking, I'm exhausted. The new house and renovations have sapped my energy and enthusiasm. I think once we settle in, I will relax and unwind. Until then, I'm as tight as a spring!

I'm blessed though. Edward is a prince. He is smiling and coo'ing at us now. He loves his sister and follows her around the room with his eyes. He is a water baby and loves the bath. His baby acne has disappeared and he has my fair skin and James's deep blue eyes. Abi loves being an older sister and is intrigued with breastfeeding. She watches me express milk and helps me with burp Edward and change his  nappies. She is settling into sisterhood better than I could ever have hoped for.

I have so many things I've wanted to blog about but am struggling to find the time or energy. The Royal Wedding, the extended Easter/Anzac holiday, the weather, new movies etc. I promise to myself to find more time. But for now, it's off to bed for a quick nap while the kids sleep. Woo!

B-B-B-B Bird is the word

This song is a firm favourite in our house. We sing it all the time. Abi thinks it's hilarious. She loves Peter Griffin... Yes, I'm a naughty Mum and let my toddler watch Family Guy occasionally. But this clip is hilarious. SURFIN BIRD!!

Outdoor Furniture

The new house has a large undercover pergola. We love entertaining and spending time outside so I'm sure we will be using the outdoor room as an extension of the main house. Choosing outdoor furniture is tough because it's all so expensive. We already have an 8 seater dining table but we are looking for something casual to lounge around on and read/cuddle etc.

Patio by Jamie Durie Daybed & Bench from Big W. Yes, it's from Big W. And what great value! This is simple and modern.

Panama Sofa from Freedom. This is perfect. I would buy this in a heartbeat.

Bahama Lounge from United House. This is nice but very expensive!

Grande Sunlounger from Harvey Norman. This is great but only seats 1 person. I would love one by the pool but it's not very practical to buy a few of them.

Air Nest Sofa from Coco Republic. I'm sure this probably costs about as much as a small car. I love Coco but most things are out of our price range.

Dining Chairs

Choosing the perfect dining chair involves many important points.

1. It must be comfortable.
2. It must be kid friendly.
3. It must be easy to clean.
4. Preferably modern and contemporary.
5. Fit our budget.

Here are a few chairs I like. We will need 6 or 8, depending on the size of our table.

Replica Eames DSR Side Chair from Matt Blatt. Unfortunately we cannot afford the real ones so the replicas will have to do for now. My mother-in-law has the real versions of this chair at the beach house and they are fantastic. Very cool chairs.

Replica Eames DAR Armchair from Matt Blatt. They have these in the food court at Bondi Westfields. They are very comfy to sit in, and I like that they have sides so kids want slip off or fall off the chair. I also like having sides on my chair but I am worried they will look too bulky side by side and that they won't fit under the table.

Bella Dining Chair from Oz Design. I like these very much. Simple and classic. But they could be a nightmare to clean with little dirty fingers around.

Nils Dining Chair from Ikea. These look wide and sturdy. They might look too chunky though? I will need to see these in the shop for sure.

Replica Xavier Pauchard Tolix Chair from Matt Blatt. These are very hip chairs. But they might be too industrial looking for the house. You can get them in various colours, I was thinking of being bold and buying them in bright yellow to make a statement. They would be easy to clean, but I'm sure the kids would need to sit on a cushion to soften the harsh feel.

Dining Tables

We are yet to choose any major pieces of furniture for the new house. I am starting to freak out so have resorted to some research online to start narrowing down our selection.

Here are some that make our shortlist. Just to give you an idea, our kitchen is white, benchtops are white, walls are white and floors are natural sand coloured bamboo. We haven't picked out dining chairs either, that will be a whole other post!

Cancun Dining Table from Freedom

Carpenter's Dining Table from Freedom

Campana Dining Table from Oz Design

Montana Dining Table from Freedom

Oakwright Dining Table from Freedom

Stratford Dining Table from Freedom

Flashback Monday

Busy with my newborn, I've missed quite a few flashbacks.

Well here you go. This will make up for weeks of not flashing back in time with me...

WARNING - Busy week ahead!

Monday

• Edward's 6 week checkup with pediatrician in Bondi Junction.
• James has Grad School in the evening so I'll have a quiet night with the kids at home.

Tuesday

• My 6 week checkup with my Ob/Gyn at the hospital.
• Edward's hip ultrasound at the hospital (because he was breech / transverse for my whole pregnancy)
• Inspection at the new house to see updates and choose colour for the splashback in the kitchen.

Wednesday

• Eye test for new glasses
• Possibly booking Edward in for his immunisations. The clinic nurse told me to get him done at 6 weeks due to the whooping cough outbreak. But I will check with the Pediatrician first.

Thursday

• Car going to be serviced. Faulty park brake being fixed, despite having my car completely serviced 3 weeks ago. I have a car with an electronic park brake and this is the 2nd time in a year that it has failed. Very annoying! At least they are giving me a replacement car for the day.

Friday

• Meeting at the new house with the guy doing our blinds and shutters. Have to choose types and colours. Going with white shutters along the front windows, blockout roll blinds for the bedrooms and light roll blinds in the rest of the house.

Saturday

• Contemplating going to Ikea to pick up stuff for the new house. It might be quiet on Easter Saturday, who knows.

Sunday

• Will eat Lindt bunnies and have a bbq on the balcony. Probably our last BBQ on the balcony before we move to the burbs. I'll miss those harbour views!

Monday

• James has Grad School in the evening. Apparently students studying for an MBA have to still study and learn on public holidays. Boo.

Tuesday

• Start packing boxes for the move. Eeeek!