a relaxing christmas day

All the preparing and planning for Christmas - which was done weeks before the event - turned out to be a very good idea, as the lead up to Christmas suddenly became very busy with work.

The presents were wrapped, cards made and sent out, and spiced nuts ready to give to extended family.

And because the menu was sorted out weeks beforehand, on Christmas day I was wondering if I shouldn't be more stressed. I kept thinking that I had forgotten something.

Somewhere along the planning, I thought it was a neat idea to have a plate full of lollies. Around three days after the girls arrived, we all agreed it perhaps wasn't such a good idea after all.

On Christmas Eve, Kelly and I created a stick tree as our table centrepiece, which I think turned out quite dramatic and pretty:


On Christmas morn, it was all Hands On Deck (the girls were terrific), and despite a small concern about the mock turkey not being cooked (it was perfect), everything turned out okay. And the dessert options were awesome! My favourite was definitely the summer berry trifle (thanks Leah!).

Here's a sneak preview of a little of what we ate:

cheese, fruit & nut platter (made by Kelly)

pani di casa loaf with garlic butter (thanks Bakers Delight)

cheese croquettes with gravy

summer berry trifle (chef a'la Leah)

best ever pudding with hot custard (that's my mother-in-law for you)

Gingerbreads - yum! (thanks Kat & Heather)

Butter cookies with glaced cherries and choc chips (made by me - hubby LOVES these)


This year's present selections did well too. Kelly's shoes fit her perfectly (and she loved her new wedges); and Leah (who can be the hardest to please) liked her top. There was only one exchange, and I knew it would be touch and go - was Leah's jeans. Not too bad I reckon.

And everyone leaving after having their fill... what a lovely day of family fun times and gluttony!

comparisons on the bump

There has been a few requests for pictures of my bump - well actually, mainly from my mums... but anyway, I thought it would be interesting to compare my pregnancy with Madison, with this pregnancy.

I knew I had popped out, but I didn't realise exactly how much... here's me at 17 weeks, now and then (the one with the long hair and the bikini - yes, what WAS I thinking?).

How is it one can pop out so much? I am starting to dread that I won't be stretch mark free this time. My new mantra is: must be careful what I eat. The problems is I know I only have a few weeks before I will mostly likely be diagnosed with gestational diabetes again, and with the Christmas season, I must admit to enjoying a few too many goodies.

On further review of the pictures, I definitely like my hair shorter. Don't think I'll be wearing it that long again for a while. :-)

our beautiful, beautiful boy

I realised it's been a while since I updated you with stories and pictures of our lovely boy.

As you may have already heard, he's quite the character, but lately he's been doing some very funny things.

One of them is during his 'sleep time'. Instead of the obvious, he can now be heard pulling every article off his bed and throwing them on the floor. My office is on the same wall as his bed, and so often I hear action (and singing), but assume he is rocking or moving about in the bed. But lately, I fear when I walk into the room, I will be making that bed all over again. Perhaps I should see it as a good thing, because it obviously tires him out to the point of falling asleep on the bed slats (because the mattress is overboard too). But that can't be comfortable.

The independence of a two year old is quite gorgeous. Because, they want to do everything, even if they can't.

So, we're about to go out in the car and I want to put his seat belt on.

"No, MINE do it!"

A few minutes later... 'Okay, Mummy do it."

There are just things he CANNOT do.

Like cut an apple with a sharp knife. Cut the cheese with a sharp knife. Do anything with a sharp knife.

But then again, there are so many things he CAN do.

Like decorate the Christmas tree (over and over again). Decorate the choc-chip cookies with choc-chips. Cut the mushrooms with the egg slicer (LOVES that job).

He's even getting quite clever with his clothes. And his arms are almost long enough to put tops over his head. Almost.

He's even been spotted helping daddy with the built-in wardrobes. Last week he was hammering nails in a block of wood. With sunglasses on. Just like daddy.

Then yesterday he was sitting at my laptop looking at the screen intently, hand on the mouse. With reading glasses on. Just like mummy.

But some of his attemps are original. For example putting himself in a Christmas sack and putting on a Christmas hat, and hopping down the hallway to show us.

Just beautiful.

MAYBE BABY? DEFINITELY!

It's high time I announced that we're having another baby.

Yes, a baby.

The hesitation in sharing this has mostly been due to the fact that I lost a baby almost exactly a year ago, and when that happens, you are usually more reticent to announce anything early. Just in case.

And I do confess that, now I am 16 weeks, each week becomes more and more exciting. And it feels like we will actually make it this time.

When we were pregnant with our first child, Madison, we didn't tell anyone until I was 19 weeks pregnant. But seeing that all those nether regions are all stretched, there is no way I could hide this baby beyond 12 weeks! I popped right out this time.

This baby is due on Madison's 3rd birthday. A few friends have asked me if something special happens at the end of August. Well, yes. Actually it's my husband's birthday. But please don't think that this is the only time we - you know - celebrate. But it does seem to be the time I am most fertile (the baby we lost was due at end of May too).

It's official! And it's feeling quite real now.

Have you been reticent to announce a pregnancy due to losing a baby in the past? Do tell.

OCD AND ME

OCD. What's that you may ask? Well, it seems I have OCD written all over my body (and house), and have been in complete denial until now...

You see, last Friday I visited my hairdresser. She hasn't been my hairdresser for long, but apart from the fact that she cuts really good hair, she and I clicked. And it was this particular visit that I realised why.

We were chatting about Christmas and my ever increasing desire to put up the Christmas tree (which you will be so proud was not put up until 30 November). She told me she hated putting up and taking down the Christmas tree, to which I responded, "Why?". After all, I thought she was like me...

Then she told me that she has a little OCD problem. OCD? Yes, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, she responded. Then she proceded to tell me her Christmas story from last year.

It was in January this year when she put down her tree. Yet afterwards she couldn't sleep. That's because she put all the baubles into the Christmas tree box. You know, loose-like. She couldn't bear to think of the baubles out of order like that. So in the middle of the night, she found all the original boxes and put the baubles back in the order in which she purchased them. You know, pink, then silver, then pink, then silver. You get the picture. As she was telling me that everything had to go back exactly the way she bought it, and then put the lights back also as she bought it, she whispered to me (so none of her staff or customers could hear over the nightclub music) "It's f@$#ing sick, is what it is".

But as I giggled nervously at her frankness, you can imagine my shock and horror to think there was actually something wrong with putting the baubles back into their original boxes (in order) and folding the wires of the lights just so it looked like it was brand new. I actually hadn't thought anything of doing just that.

And then just last week I was talking with one of my oldest and dearest friends, and during our weekly chat she stated, she might sound slightly anal for doing it, but she was going to buy boxes for her Christmas decorations this year and colour code them so she could coordinate different colours combinations in the years to come.

And I thought the idea was brilliant.

But then I thought, how come these people think that simply being organised is a sin? While I think that I am slightly anally retentive, I usually relish in my organising capabilities. (And some of my friends do too!)

This same friend then challenged me to go through my cupboards and my house to see what else I do that is slightly OCD. Then take a photo.

So then I did. And here's my list:


1. There are new matching wooden coathangers in our new wardrobes (my husband's shirts are in colour order from lightest to darkest, short-sleeves to long-sleeves).

2. Our clothes are also folded in colour order (from lightest to darkest).
3. I have an 8-week meal cycle complete with rice, pasta, roast dinner and soup nights.

4. My scrapping desk is something of an art form, but everything is in matching jars.

5. My Christmas tree has only three colours on it: blue, gold, bronze.

Okay. I don't think that anything there is TOO bad. But after some comparisons with friends, I have also discovered that...

What I do not have is:

1. Alphabetically ordered herbs and spices.
2. Tins in my pantry all facing the same way.
3. Every single article of clothing ironed before it's put away.
4. Photo albums.

So, putting all those very unorganised things aside, I think I could almost say I was a balanced person.

Aren't I?