Books...Glorious Books....

I haven't had much time lately to read books but I do read the "mamamia" blog every day and have been searching high and low for this particular book in the book stores.

Finally today I found it at Borders!!! Woohoo!!! I am soooo looking forward to popping little man into bed tonight and sitting down with a lovely warm cup of tea and this book!!

Ahhh...perfection on a winters evening!

Monday Fun

These last few days, little man has struggled with sleep. Yesterday, he had a 40 minute sleep in the morning and then a half hour sleep in the afternoon and then partied until 9pm!! Let me tell you by 9pm, mummy was exhausted!!

So, this morning he was awake all of one hour and was then grizzly so back to bed he went and actually slept for a good hour or so. Then we headed to my mum's so we could get to the local shops and get some bargains (more on them later!).

Mum and I felt like treating ourselves to Thai for lunch.

A enjoyed sitting in the IKEA highchair at the Thai restaurant.

A little bit of Thai culture in this photo with the elephants!!

We had a quiet afternoon enjoying our purchases!! More on that later....

Culture and fun for a Monday

These last few days, little man has struggled with sleep. Yesterday, he had a 40 minute sleep in the morning and then a half hour sleep in the afternoon and then partied until 9pm!! Let me tell you by 9pm, mummy was exhausted!!

So, this morning he was awake all of one hour and was then grizzly so back to bed he went and actually slept for a good hour or so. Then we headed to my mum's so we could get to the local shops and get some bargains (more on them later!).

Mum and I felt like treating ourselves to Thai for lunch.

A enjoyed sitting in the IKEA highchair at the Thai restaurant.

A little bit of Thai culture in this photo with the elephants!!

Saturday for standing

So our Saturday day was spent relaxing and hanging at home after the boring chores of cleaning and grocery shopping.

While playing during the afternoon, Alex finally pulled himself up to a standing position (and I managed to grab the camera just in time!)!!!!

Now, all the other babes in my mum's group have been doing this for awhile but our little man has just mastered it!! YIPPEE....I think...I am a little concerned as it now means that walking isn't too far off and he can pull himself up to pull things down off low surfaces that he wants.

Our Saturday evening was spent barracking for the Wallabies when they played Ireland at Suncorp Stadium here in Brisbane. Little man received this Wallabies onesie as a gift from his Uncle John for his Baptism. It's still a little big but...he looks so damn cute in it!!

Oh and even better, Australia did win!!

A spent the evening posing for pics, won't bore you with all of them but this one does the evening justice!

Best and Worst of the Week that Was

This week has been hectic yet again! The hightlight of the week was, A made it through the week with no illnessess!! Sad but true, lately it has been one thing after another!! Watching A explore everything is amazing, I sit and look at him and all I can see is a beautiful little boy learning and exploring and having so much fun while doing so. He loves to babble to himself and follow us around...My love for him is neverending.

Another high point was spending some quality time with my mum earlier in the week, as I haven't spent much time with her lately. We made scones and generally had a good laugh over coffee, tea and scones. There is nothing in the world quite as lovely as mum time, it is special and it is different and it is the BEST!

It has been an interesting week, Wednesday/ Thursday brought about change on a few levels, personally and not so personally;

Firstly the political life of the PM came crashing down, think what you want....I know I do... but out of it we do have Australia's first female PM - good or bad in your own beliefs, it is a rather momentus occasion.

We watched A wrestle his way out of his jumper the other night which had me in stitches, I laughed so hard, I cried and what was even funnier, A was laughing at us laughing at him....priceless!! I am unsure what possessed a 9 and a half month old to try and take off his jumper that was keeping him warm! (definately a high point!)

I don't really have a low point for the week except.... staying at work last night to do 2 hours overtime and running around trying to care for all our patients....but I enjoyed it...so I shall not complain!

Right, well that's my week in a nut shell....hopefully this weekend will be fun - go the Wallabies!!

Off to share some laughs with little man who is giggling away with his daddy. Then out to lunch tomorrow with my family....good times....good times.

Chitter Chatter

A is now 9 and a half months and he has quite the vocab! For a boy, he sure does chat a lot. A is constantly chatting to himself and anyone else who is keen to listen.

His words to date are; mumma, dadda, hello, adam and bubba...and his new word this week is "ball"!! We can ask A where the ball is and he will go off and find it and then say it all the way there and back!

He is so funny chit chatting away....I think he gets it from me!! Apparently I never shut up and I could talk under water....I personally think it's a great asset to have!

Fun days

A and I went to my mum's today for the day. We haven't been able to spend much time this last week with mum, so off we went nice and early.

I am trying to teach A how to wear his beanie for when we are in Italy....and also because it's important to be able to wear a hat when it is cold or sunny...

A, as you can see from the above pictures has different ideas, nevertheless mum and I had a great day together following A around the house exploring and basically having fun!

Oh I love days like these!! So fun and yet so simple!

My morning spent in the kitchen

Well, I must admit, I am not very "hands on" when it comes to cooking.... so when I dreamt about scones last week and had been bitterly disappointed the previous time we were treated to them, I decided that was it, we were going to make them!!

So this morning, mum and I made some scones from scratch while little man slept....and....if I do say so myself, they are gorgeous!! Especially with the dab of strawberry jam and cream!

I think we may try....

This is planned for later this afternoon, as a treat....

Buttermilk scones

Photography by Steve Brown

Sunday is the perfect day for scones, and this recipe provides you with some great sweet and savoury variations.

Makes

16

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 60g butter, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• jam and whipped cream, to serve
• 
  
• Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Grease and flour a 8cm-deep, 19cm (base) square cake pan.

2. Place flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre. Add buttermilk. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until dough almost comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface.

4. Knead gently until dough comes together. Press out to a 3cm-thick round. Dip a 5cm round cutter into flour to prevent dough sticking. Cut out scones. Gently press leftover dough pieces together and repeat to make a total 16 scones.

5. Place scones, touching, in prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until light golden and hollow when tapped on top. Serve with jam and cream.

Notes

Weekend Walks

Ready for his Saturday morning walk with mummy and daddy.

We have enjoyed a quiet weekend as we both endured a rather hectic week. Work is getting busier and busier for us both, which means that weekends are definitely all about relaxing at home!!

Saturday we cleaned (that task that no one likes to do, but once complete makes us feel so good about or home again), we then went for a walk around the neighbourhood. We stopped in at a car yard on the way home and found a very cute VW that I fell in love with straight away! However, we left it there for someone else to take home and enjoy.

We headed off to find some lunch, which A slept all the way through. We wandered some local shops where W purchased a new jumper (I think he was pretty pleased with himself!). We cruised home and enjoyed a quiet night in watching the Wallabies and England.... let us not ponder that result for too long!!

This morning we headed to Woolworths for some very much needed groceries (mind you our fridge is still very bare!). Then headed off to my mum and dad's to say hello. A played with his Pa, throwing a ball and basically keeping us all entertained!

Home for lunch and a nap for A. I do enjoy a peaceful weekend with my boys after a busy week!!

"Cotton" Wedding Anniversary (Our 2nd)

Today is our second wedding anniversary....happy wedding anniversary to my gorgeous boy!

We celebrated with a lunch yesterday, A was at his Nonna and Pa's for a couple of hours so we chatted over a lovely meal and a glass of wine. Later in the afternoon, we went to my parents place and chatted about our exciting plans for a trip to Italy in December.

I have a rather long list of clothes I will need to purchase in a size 2 for December for A. It will be a winter Christmas and even maybe some snow!! How exciting will it be to see A play in the snow. The issue we are trying to grasp at the moment is how much we will need to pack for A for the few weeks we are away and even figuring out milk and food for travelling. It is very exciting, albeit a little daunting!

So, back to the subject of anniversaries, we haven't bestowed each other with gifts as we are saving for Italy. As I think back to this day two years ago, so much has changed, we have gone from a newly married couple to a married couple with a beautiful little boy. Our wedding day was fabulous and I often think about how pretty and timeless the day was, pity it all went so fast!

Off to enjoy the remainder of my Monday with my two boys... here are some pics of the big day!

Working life

Well, I have done my first week of three days a week at work....and survived...just!!!

Apart from some lazy people that I work with, my week was okay.

We were busy which thankfully made my week and days go quicker, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because all I want to do is come home to my wee little man and enjoy being a mum.

Being a nurse doesn't define me....being a mum does.

At times I wonder why some of my colleagues bother to turn up to work, but in the end, it doesn't really matter, what matters is why I bother to turn up and the care that I provide to my patients. Doesn't it?

Music is fabulous!

We love music! A has a xylophone that we bought him on a recent shopping adventure at Toys r Us with Nonna. Uncle Greg, W's best mate and A's godfather visited us these past few days and he has taught A how to play the xylophone! I think A's face is a classic and says it all really. He is a future Wallaby and band man! Let me know what you think....

Our Favourite Things This Week

A and I are having a quiet week this week before working and day care later this week.

We are off to parents group this morning where we will FINALLY see all the other babies that we haven't seen for a few weeks as life has been so hectic!

Each evening before I go to sleep, I reflect on the day that has been. Last night I was very excited that A loved his porridge that his Nonna bought him yesterday on our shopping trip to Woolworths. He enjoyed it so much he had it for lunch and dinner!

My favourite for the week is my regular cup of tea, albeit this mug is not my favourite I do enjoy a cup of Twinings Simply Tea throughout each day.

I hope everyone is looking forward to their day as much as we are looking forward to our day ahead!

9 months today!

Happy 9 months today to our gorgeous son!

I was coming home from a fabulous evening with the girls late last night thinking about this time 9 months ago, my waters breaking and heading into hospital....how time has flown by and now instead of a tiny, precious newborn baby we have a beautiful full of life 9 month old with 2 and a half teeth, who crawls, claps and is full of smiles and giggles!

These past few weeks haven't been easy for A, he has been quite ill but I think we are at the other side of it now! He has spent today smiling, giggling and just being himself!

I love being a mum to A!!!

Girls Night Out!

I am very excited, this Saturday evening, some of the girls and I are headed out for cocktails and dinner at a local restaurant! We are all doing the bedtime regime and then heading out and leaving the boys at home with the bubs!

Sad but true, I am really looking forward to it!! Of course, I will also love coming home to my two boys at the end of the evening! Bring it on!!

9 month separation anxiety?

A is very very clingy at the moment, I am unsure if it is because he is sick or if it is because he is going through the 9 month clingy stage.

In this photo he is sitting at my feet infront of the dishwasher. He seems to join us in the kitchen for entertainment and company!

This is the new face he pulls at everything and everyone, it seems to attract people to him! We went to medicare today and the lady next to us thought his facial expression was priceless! I do too!!

Dislikes her little man being very ill

I dislike waiting and I dislike my son being ill.

We have endured a very long week where little man has endured fevers of up to 39.7 degrees and has been awake most nights crying and in pain. We have visited our GP every day bar Sunday and have got nowhere.

So this morning when A went white, very cold and quivery I called my mum and off we went to the local emergency department. We sat and waited to be told nothing!! So we left and called the paediatrician who we hadn't spoken to over this matter. We were told to come straight away so we did.

We had a range of tests done and are now waiting results. He is on antibiotics and hopefully will now be on the mend! He has endured another temperature on arriving home but we have had a smile or two as well, which makes it so much better!

Thank goodness for our Uncle Phil (paediatrician) and my darling mum who came to the rescue! Hopefully now little man will be himself again in a few days....while we wait to see the cause of these high fevers.

There is nothing worse than the love of your life being ill, especially when they can't tell you what is the matter! Hopefully that is our last emergency visit for a very long time!!

On a happier note, I am looking forward to dinner and drinks with the girls this weekend!