Putting up the Christmas tree with a toddler...

Well it's officially less then a month until Christmas, and because December 1st falls on a Wednesday we decided to put the tree up and decorate the house on Saturday... I had definite fears that Marley was going to be more of a hindrance then a help, but she really came through on the helpful tip... Passing the baubles to mummy and daddy at lightening speed, not trying to take the decorations off the tree and being super excited to be involved... Lots of talk about Santa 'ho, ho, ho!' and reindeer, she really was just adorable! Ever since Saturday morning she has been very excited passing through the hallway stopping to point, talk to and look at the 'tree, tree!' with the 'pretty rocks' (jewelled weird shaped decorations) just beautiful...

So overall I would say my fears about putting up the tree with a toddler were completely unfounded! Was a wonderful family morning...

Baking gingerbread men...

Another stormy day paired with another double ear infection and throat infection... Once the afternoon fever came down a little and Marley continuously asked to go outside, I decided we needed a long indoor activity to get us through the afternoon... Baking it was... I cheated by getting a packet mix of gingerbread men because I couldn't have left my little handful alone long enough to measure out a recipe from scratch, Marley didn't know the difference!

She LOVED it! Kneading the dough, wearing our cupcake aprons, cutting out the little men and decorating them... The only lulls were when the dough had to rest for 15 minutes, she went and cooked on her mini oven... And when they were cooking, we had crazy sticker fun, all over her, the couch, the chair and me!

Highly recommended way to spend the afternoon with a toddler!

New babies = shopping!!!

One of the most wonderful things about having a new baby, once you have had the 20 week scan and get the all good, is shopping for the new addition... Here are some super cute items delivered in the past week:


5 pack of Nike onesies, very cute colours/designs... The Jordan ones we bought Marley were a staple of her wardrobe, as I'm sure these will come to be...
Navy blue Ralph Lauren slip on sneakers, with little green polo logos all over them... Beautiful!
Blue Ralph Lauren tracksuit, so soft!

After a mad washing spree and sorting all the clothes that Marley wore and fishing out the non pink variety, our little lads wardrobe is close to complete... Now it's feeling so real, can't wait to meet him!

Relaxing girls night away...

Saturday morning I left my beautiful little family and took off to Merricks beach with 3 of my best mates... It was a relaxing day, can't believe I remembered how to 'relax'...

These days relaxation comes in 10 minute bursts, so an afternoon of a lovely lunch at the 'general store' (yum!), lounging in the garden soaking up sun, certainly wasn't guilt free! So relaxing it was, walking down the beach and hilarious UNO shenanigans, just lapping it up, this might be the last time in ages that I have this freedom... Even though it was hard, thinking about what Mark and Marley were up to, it was the first night I have ever spent away from them both!!! Definitely worth it, especially because I got to come home to this little darling :)

The Walking Dead... Watch it!!!

We finally got around to watching the pilot of The Walking Dead last night... To be honest I was putting it off, watching all of the other shows we download as they came in, a bit scared of this show, even with the great reviews... With good reason, it IS scary! For me...

After being pregnant with/having Marley, my love of horror has subsided... My night horrors increasing to massive proportions, only able to watch scary films through the day, at which time Marley is up, so not really watching horror at all... Being pregnant again I was freaking out at the possibility of being scared weekly should we commit to this show...

I am glad that I gave it a go... It's freaking awesome... It is not only scary, but touching and offers hope that lots of shows we watch don't... The opening scene had me freaking out and then all teary and upset (deeply considering turning it off), in fact in the hour and six minutes I was often upset, but the hopeful moments just make me want more, more, more, to the point where I am spewing we have a game tonight and won't be able to watch the next episode! I might also add that the whole episode had us gripped, neither of us checking anything on our phones, time, email, eBay, twitter or facebook! That's really saying something!

As far as bad dreams go, I had them all night, lots of undead, rotting flesh, guns, fear, but I didn't wake up screaming which is a good sign!

You need to watch it!

Big Girls Bed... Help?

We have officially ordered Marleys big girls bed!

I don't know a great deal about when a good time to put her in it would be? Or how? With a pillow? Still in a sleeping bag with a sheet? Or full doona, but surely she will kick it off and get cold? Aaaaah! Another task that will hopefully be sorted before baby2 arrives, but is pre 2 too young?

Most importantly it's the end of an era... She will be moving out of the nursery, into what was Marks studio... The first time in over 6 years that I won't be housed with 5,000 records, and my little girl will be in a bed she doesn't fit into with super cute Charlie and Lola sheets... In the store I got a bit teary, she was sooooo excited and didn't want to get off the bed, but so small she would only need about a quarter of it! Having kids is a constant flow of change, this is one of the bigger changes...

20 months on...

This month it feels like so much has happened in Marley land...

She has started singing the proper words to songs... Her favourite is 'twinkle twinkle little star how I ... are', okay she hasn't got all the words, but can sing a few bars of all of her favourites...

Mum bought her a tricycle this week and she LOVES it! Riding in the court (assisted) with her neighbours... It's so sweet... It's truly awesome seeing her interact so well with kids older then her...

The potty has been used successfully at her request, which is completely out of left field... I thought we would probably do the potty training thing mid next year, maybe when we got back from the UK... But if she is ready I guess we will go the encouragement route and let her lead the way... Bought her some cute little pants in any case...

So busy busy 20 month old cutie!

Yoga for pregnant ladies, and their toddlers?

I have had a hard time getting to the gym lately with sickness (colds all 'round), tiredness, being busy trying to catch up on things post sick and tired, which has resulted in a decision to get a yoga DVD at home... I started with a proper yoga DVD which was far too hardcore for me, ordered a pregnancy yoga DVD and it felt much better!

I have been doing it 3-4 times a week, a nice amount... Still hoping to get back to gym, at least for body pump (did this up to month 8 of pregnancy with Marley), but in the meantime at least I am doing something... However Marley isn't a fan, she goes from playing with her toys, to sitting on my lap at every sitting pose, to doing her own yoga next to me, to using my body as a racing track for her cars when I am doing the downward facing dog... I must admit that her yoga is very cute, and flexible, it's just so hard to relax and focus when one eye has to stay on the kid!

In any case I definitely recommend checking a pregnancy yoga DVD if you are pregnant and struggling to exercise!

Love and Marriage...

This past Sunday I had the honour of being invited to be one of my longest friends head bitch - Matron of Honour (lucky I am looking quite matronly right now), as she married her soulmate... It was a beautiful day, I forgot how awesome it is to live in someone elses love bubble for a day! The nicest thing about weddings is the loving gaze in everyones eyes as they look on as the bride and groom declare their love... This couple is one I truly believe in and I was just so happy to get to witness such a wonderful day...

The fallout is coming home to a very grumpy lass who is definitely holding a grudge against me for leaving her! Has been a hard day, with exhaustion, grumpy Marley, heavy work, am hoping for a better day tomorrow!

In the meantime I can hold onto the high from yesterday!

Leopard Print Leggings For Kids

Got these in the post today, and I love, love, love them!!! Can't wait to put them on Marley! They are by Rock Your Baby www.rockyourbaby.com.au they have some extremely cute kids clothes, great for 'something different' gifts as well as your own kids of course...

Meltdowns...

Last night I had a dream related to Dads last day alive, I woke up out of sorts, unsure why... Was watching with loving eyes as Marley and Mark had some beautiful cuddles this morning, and left them to play as I headed off to lunch with the girls... Listening to some sentimental music in the car, it all came flooding in, the dream, the special moments Mark and Marley share and that I am having a little baby that my Dad is never going to get to meet...

Meltdown...

I am not a cryer, well not since he died, but I cried all the way to Crickets... Pulled myself together... Within minutes of being in the safe presence of the girls, lost it again... I had a moment like this when I was having Marley, so I guess I knew it was coming, just took me by surprise... I could blame it on a million things, but the fact is, I miss him... And it sucks that he is never going to meet my family...

The zoo and the kid!

Yesterday we took advantage of a day off, beautiful sun and our Friends Of The Zoo memberships and went to the zoo... Truly awesome day, only downside was the influx of school children later in the morning... Marley loved the meerkats, all varieties of monkey, and most of all, the seals... That's when I took that photo, was tough because she was eating her sandwich and in fits of laughter as the seal swam round and demanding 'more more more' every time it swam away... Love the zoo, especially with my little family...

Scan was awesome, so nice to see our little ones functioning heart, brain, fingers, toes and whole little being... Was absolutely stoked on leaving, except that it is already measuring big... There are pros and cons to having big babies, all pros for the kid, all cons for the labour, ouch!

Standing on the tram...

Had to get the tram into the city this morning for a special event for work... Getting on the tram at a ridiculously large 19 weeks, two women get on in front of me, both taking the last two available seats on the tram, one of which was in the 'special needs' seats... Now I am big in the tummy, and it is clear that I am pregnant, I am not at the point that I need to sit because I'm all big and tired... For me, it is more about safety... If that tram takes a fast turn or quick stop and I fall onto my tummy, it would be dangerous to the health of my baby... We go the whole ride with no one making eye contact, G-d forbid that I would request a seat, then a couple people get off right before my stop, and the next people all ask if I want a seat first... This left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, that at least some people aren't pricks...

Christmas Calendars Are In!

This years Christmas calendars are back from www.snapfish.com.au

Mark (very sweetly) used to make me a custom calendar every year for Christmas, then in time for Christmas last year we got a discount at snapfish and thought we could use the same calendar for us, and as gifts for a few family members... They are extremely cute, and if you can be bothered you can personalise birthdates etc, however doing 6 of them there was no way I was checking everyones special dates... An awesome Christmas gift idea!

Full up weekend...

This weekend has been crazy, long, busy... My sister-like cousin Charna, her son Chae and my Aunty Carmen visited from Cairns... We had loads of quality time... A beautiful sunny day in the botanical gardens, lunches and hot chocolates out, and a shopping trip to Chadstone... They have left our spot now, but we are visiting them for Christmas so it wasn't the most emotional goodbye...

One observation about little Marley and Chae, who she absolutely adores... Kids seem to think each other equal regardless of age... Throughout the long weekend Marley (20 months) clearly thought Chae (5 months) was her age/development stage... Going up to him and asking for his hand, which means she wanted him to come with her, trying to give him crayons to colour and share her toys and foods with him... This is just adorable, but a worry for the baby on it's way, the last thing I will need is for her to be feeding my newborn blueberries on the sly!

Happy Bray Week!

What a wonderful week!

Mine and my darling husbands birthdays... A beautiful weekend, a surprisingly lovely birthday, and to finish it off a massage, facial and pedi on the way to meet Mark for our annual birthday dinner at Fifteen... Which was just divine, as expected...





Happy birthday desserts!





Surprise flowers from my darling, and also from my mothers group friends :) needless to say, with all the messages, texts, calls, gifts and lovely flowers, I felt really special on the big day!

Go Specsavers Go!!!

Well today there was a great expectation to drop a grand on glasses, this is commonplace at OPSM, which is where I have been going for the last 16 years... When I was last at OPSM they royally effed up my script, so I made the decision to change to the new in Australia Specsavers... I used Specsavers in the UK and was happy with their service...

So I go to Specsavers, the optician is truly awesome... The rest of the staff are really helpful and on top of that I got 2 pairs of glasses for $760!!! Now if you have run of the mill bad eyesight you can get two pairs for less then half that, my eyes are extremely bad hence the hefty price tag... Still, my lenses alone are usually $500 if that gives you an indication of just how good a deal they give!

And for everyone out there that consistently suggest that I get laser, it is well and truly off the cards... My eyes suck so bad that even if I got laser I would still need to wear glasses full time, at least the dude was real with me... Even if it crushes my hopes of ever waking up and seeing my beautiful husbands face :(

Best Saturday Night In Aaaages...

After an awesome lunch with my friends we made our way to check in at the Stamford Plaza in the city... A beautiful birthday gift from my mum and Shane... Just chilling a little before the game was bliss, you don't realise how precious baby free time is... Cruised to Minotaur, and bought some Buffy and Angel graphic novels and made our way to the game...


Melbourne Victory V Sydney FC, our biggest rivals... I was really nervous about the game, it's so much more intense when you are pregnant... Surprisingly we played some good football! Scoring 3, with Sydney being completely shut down... Obviously adding to the greatness of the night, nothing like kicking arse against your rivals...


Back to our room for a lovely evening with the man I love the most in the world... I highly recommend that every couple with children get a full night away sometime, really let's you go deep into the beauty of your relationship...








All in all it was perfect...

Then right before bed while I was moisturising, my glasses fell off the bathroom counter and cracked on the tiles... Bad, bad, bad... Second time this year that's happened to me... Wouldn't be so bad if I had standard bad vision, however my eyes are really bad... It takes 4 weeks and costs $500 just for my lenses to be crafted, not including frames... Annoying, yes, but I will let go... Get a new script tomorrow, choose new frames and after dropping a grand on new vision, will be more careful in future!

Early birthday lunch at Mistys Diner

A beautiful lunch with a handful of friends to celebrate my birthday this afternoon... I LOVE Mistys Diner, why haven't I been here before??? We ordered a bunch of stuff to try as a group, ending with a massive burger each... Loved the jalepeno stuffed poppers, mozzerella sticks, curly fries and burger, the biscuits and gravy were not that great... Yummy food, excellent decor, reminded me of a diner we ate at in Vegas once... We will be back!!!

Early Birthday Kicks (x2)

Today I got my birthday kicks from Marks parents... Got to love an early present! There is another early birthday gift from the little baby in my tummy, some tiny tummy nudges... A brilliant gift! I love it when you first start to feel the baby move, it doesn't distract too much, it doesn't hurt yet and it's kind of like a special secret between the two of you... Good times!

Birthdays when you are pregnant are a bit blegh... There is a definite feeling that you don't need anything, you are going to be blowing up like a whale so the last thing you want is anything that reminds you of your pre pregnancy weight, and the only thing you really want is to have a baby... Then there are always shoes, but your feet are always changing size through and after your pregnancy, but we went with shoes *fingers crossed* my feet don't go up another half size this time!!! I really don't want feet bigger then they are currently, but this will be my last pregnancy so hopefully they don't change, and if they do, it's not too much!