Baby News

So at last I can explain why I haven't been blogging properly for aaaaaaages. Primarily it's because I have been feeling like crap. And the reason I have been feeling like crap?

I'm pregnant!!!!

Whoooo - freaking - hoo!!!!!

Even though many people know in the real world I have been keeping it a secret from the internet whilst I waited to reach 12 weeks. That little milestone happened yesterday and I am feeling good so here is news!

We were so lucky this time round, it was a much quicker process. It took four cycles to conceive (we conceived on the fourth) and I did it with a little bit of help from my old friend Clomid. Only difference was I used a girlfriend's left over packet without my doctor's supervision. I know. Bad. But, my logic was "hey, give this a go, see if it works, if not, no stress, back to the Fertility Specialist in Feb". I took a very low dose, much lower than I needed to conceive Cate and wham, bam, thank you M'am...it worked.

I took a pregnancy test only because hubby suggested it was a good idea as I was being a feral cow, having period like symptoms AND my sense of smell went through the roof...I could smell rotting mould everywhere, it was awful.

The test revealed a bright pink second line IMMEDIATELY :) I had to do a happy dance with Cate in the bathroom as we were the only ones home!

That was quite some time ago and, in the mean time, I have morning (more like all day) sickness, extreme fatigue and a whole lot of bloating. I'm looking fat and pudgey (not pregnant!) but feeling better and about to go and see my midwife for my first appointment.

Life is good :)

Shameless Show Off

Well I would have taken the lazy way out and just have loaded these on facebook sans long blog BUT my page is 'temporarily unavailable" which I hate. So here I am.

It would seem I have the cutest daughter in the universe who is also, by the way, the biggest show off EVER. The other day I induldged in some shopping...only a little bit as that is all I can afford and only for Cate because, let's face it, shopping for her is so fun, fun, fun. I can also justify her purchases much better than buying yet another top for me that I will probably wear two or three times before growing out of it (hehehehe - more to come on that little issue on Monday!).

Anyways I bought Cate new runners with...wait for it...velcro. Oh, she could die and go to heaven! This kid LOVES velcro! Her little runners are pink (God damn it I am SO OVER pink) but they are also white and they are as cute as hell. Missy fancies herself in them like you wouldn't believe.

Second purchase was a coat from Target. Here was the dilema: two coats, one a stylish and gorgeous trench style in a deep pink, very trendy, the other a hot, hot, hot pink parka style with green lining and a fur trim. Now, my tastes ran towards the former, the stylish trench. Unfortunately though, the trench was not anywhere near padded enough, not warm and snuggly enough for our cold winters. So I was forced to purchase the well padded but garish fluro pink fur trimmed coat. Sigh. MORE pink.

I need not have worried however, as Cate fell in deep, passionate love with her new fluro pink coat. She ran delightedly from the kitchen to the bedroom to stare at herself in my mirror, over and over and again. She who hates hats loved the fur trimmed parka hood and screamed when I took it off. So...even though I hate it, I now kinda love it, purely because it has delighted my girl so much. Proof is in the pudding up top :)

Three weeks later...

Time flies when you're not blogging. It's been three weeks since I was last here celebrating at my own pity party. I have five minutes to myself as hubby has taken baby for a walk - must be quick then.

Things are better? Worse? The same? No, they are better. Sleeping is still not great but I've done more reading (sigh) and implemented a few changes and they've worked a little. I got tougher on food and made up big freezer stashes of healthy things for Cate to try - I have had some success, more vegies, fruit, meat and fish have been ingested on some days, it's still pretty hit and miss. The horrid bout of teething that plagued the house for nearly a month has eased and Catie has two new molars and three other teeth (I don't know all the proper teeth names - so shoot me)half way there. I'm relieved the teething has slowed but am aware it will be back with a venegence...still a break is better than nothing.

So yeah, the pity party stuff has slowed down too.

There's been other exciting developments on the horizon too. My sister and her fiance have set the date for their wedding and picked a venue (Jan 29th 2011 - bring it on!), my parents have sold their business and are slowly getting through the last hand over weeks (final date is March 19th, can't wait) and we have started adding a third bedroom to our house - our new room! We have added a wall to our large upstairs 'loft' space and created a new room. Wardrobes are going in this week, air con went in last week, there's been painting and plastering and nails, bolts and screws - all very exciting stuff. Can't wait til it's finished and we can move in.

So yeah - life is better. We are running away next week for a mini break...will be back to blog and finally add some piccies after that!!!

Mother how you want to mother?

I am sick of apologising for not being motivated enough with this blog. So there. No apologies today.

Just read an interesting post titled 'Mother How You Want To Mother' and it got me thinking. While this post was about this particular mother's journey through the first seven weeks of her baby's life and I'm a long way past that heady stage, I started thinking about how I DON'T 'mother how I want to mother'. Not really anyway.

When Cate was little, it was easy. Sure there was sleep deprivation but, hello, there's STILL sleep deprivation. And everything else has gotten harder. My tiny little seven week old was an angel...feeding, burping, sleeping through...bliss. I am now dealing with a 'full of personality' toddler and man, it's a whole different ball park.

I always had in my mind that I, of course, would be SuperMother. No hesitation there. I just 'knew' mothering was something I would be good at. I had this image of having funny little kidlets who had great personalities, great manners, great respect for others. I would be firm but fair when it came to discipline, my children would know that my no MEANT no and I would make a few mistakes along the way (don't we all) but not many. In a nutshell: SuperMother come on down.

The reality is sadly different.

My dad says I am a Marshmellow Mother and, even thought I'm not as soft as he thinks, I am certainly not as 'tough' I would like to be when it comes to my little firecracker. I never realised I would be blessed with such a strong willed drama queen and I know I haven't always dealt with her in the best way possible.

I'm NOT mothering how I would like to mother. Cate gets away with murder because I've realised I'm more a "Peace At Any Price" mum as compared to a "When I Say No I Mean It" type mum. I have been horrified, literally horrified by the amount of utter crap my daughter has been eating lately and yet, tonight she ate chips from the chicken shop for dinner because I simply didn't have the energy to whip up something healthy she wouldn't eat anyways. I used to be tough when it came to her night wake ups...now I have reverted to getting her a bottle to get her back to sleep quickly as I crave sleep so desperately. She drinks too much milk, eats nowhere enough good, healthy food (or food full stop) and she frequently gets away with behaviour that she shouldn't (for example, climbing on the kitchen table or playing with my mobile phone) because I can't be bothered suffering through another tantrum.

Sigh. Pity party much?

Tired much?

Still here. Promise I am still here.

I am exhausted, bloated, tired, hot, cranky and exhausted but I am still here. Just ;)

Update:

Cate = Good. Generally happy. Apparently has decided that sooking and tantrums are reserved for Mummy's presence seeing as both Daddy and Granny and Gramps have reported perfect behaviour over the last few days I've been at work. As soon as I reappear my monster does too!

Justin = Good. Hardly seeing him at the moment as I work days and he works nights. But we need the money so cannot complain (plus I am being melodramatic. It's only for three days!)

Family = Good. Sister and her new fiance return from OS this Thurs and am peeing in my pnats to see them and celebrate their engagement (after nine years together!). Am hoping I shall muster some energy from somehwere before this big event.

Health = Fine and Dandy. Kinda. There's news on the brew that shall remain nameless for now. I am also in desperate, desperate news of a manicure but can't be fecked right now.

Bed time please :)

Banana Pancakes - YUUUUUUMMMM!

You all know cooking is not my thing. Fortunately, however, I CAN cook and LOVE to cook pancakes. Was a die-hard "pancake shaker in a bottle" fan until my good friend Mad Moro taught me how to make them from scratch and I realised how easy it truly is.

Best thing? Cate adores pancakes :)

Even better thing? I usually have milk, eggs, baking soda, caster sugar and self raising flour on hand.

Here's how it went tonight. Cate is still being a bratty with what she will and won't eat. Sigh. She did, however, wolf down a banana for afternoon tea. I'm sick of cooking sausages and fish fillets for her dinner so decided it would be banana pancakes tonight instead. A bit of a sweet dinner, but what the hell, I knew it would get eaten for a change...and it did.

So my very basic baby pancake recipe goes like this:

*Dash of SR flour
*Sprinkle of Baking Soda
*Sprinkle of caster sugar
*Splash of milk
*1 egg

Mix thoroughly until a batter forms. Adjust ingredients until it just looks *right*. I know this is incredibly unhelpful in terms of recipes but everyone knows what pancake batter looks like, right?

Tonight I added half of a mashed banana to the pancake batter.

(If I am poshing pancakes up for grown ups I use buttermilk and more quantities of everything. The above only makes a tiny baby batter suitable for about five pikelets.)

Pour batter into heated frypan after adding butter to make sure the pancakes won't stick. Flip the pancake when it starts to bubble.

Oooooooo, yummy. The mashed banana gave these a real kick and they were a big hit, Cate had four!!! Mummy scoffed the rest ;)

She Walks!

Hurrah!!! She really walks now, no doubt about it.

It seems my little love likes to take her merry time. When she started crawling, she got up one night in the kitchen, crawled, collapsed and didn't crawl again for nearly a month. I should have known the same thing would happen with her walking...and it did.

She took her first steps on Boxing Day - she walked four steps from my friends arms into mine. We all screamed and jumped for joy thinking 'this is it!'. Then, nothing. On Jan 15th, she got up and walked across the room! Cue more screaming and utter delight. She walked all night, meters and metres at a time, giggling and thinking she was tops. The next day I tried to convince her to show off her new skill to her daddy once he returned from work - nothing. In fact, not only would she not walk, she had a massive tantrum very time it was even hinted at!

A whole week later on Jan 22nd, Cate finally decided walking was for her - for real this time. She hasn't stopped since. Daddy bought her her first pair of shoes - a darling pair of navy blue leather sandals (I'm not saying how much they cost, you'll die. I usually don't spend that much on shoes for myself, let alone my 15 month old!). This morning Daddy and Daughtter walked all the way down the street and back - a HUGE walk for someone brand new at it! As a result, she collapsed into her cot and is sleeping soundly - bliss :)

That piccie shows Cate midstep :) She's wearing a gorgeous top her Aunty Stace and Aunty Rob gave her for her birthday - it finally fits!