Seeing Red ...

So, whilst on the lookout for some kind of wedding attire that needs to fit my belly in it for the next 6 or so weeks -  I have one wedding in a week or so and the other in about 6 weeks and, I've got to tell you, I start getting quite large about now so there's no guarantees - I came across a gorgeous maternity shirt at Pumpkin Patch.

It is quite long but what I love about it is that it actually ties underneath your belly. It looks - well, at least I thought it would look - quite cute and not as accentuating as the lovely a-frame shirts that start just under your boobs and then flair out making you look he-uge!!!

I tried it on today. And ....

Hmmmm, I do like it. I thought I would love it but I just like it and with 14 weeks to go I couldn't decide whether I liked it $50 worth for 14 weeks because it's not going to be one of those wear-me-for-a-few-months-after-the-birth type tops.  It's just not.

The thing that has weirded me out the most though?  It's red and white! RED! R-E-D! That's right, RED! I don't like, have never liked red yet somewhere in these hormones is a strong connection to red. No idea where it came from. It has never happened before but I have been really drawn to red since ... I'm not quite sure whether it was just before I conceived or just after. 

I thought I'd look up some meanings. On my first google search the second sentence in this color psychology site made me glad I didn't buy it ...

Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier.

Thank goodness, I thought. While I'd like to be noticed, I certainly don't want to be noticed for the wrong reasons. So, of course, I tried another site and this is what it said ...

On the psycho-spiritual level, this chakra relates to self awareness. That is to say our awareness of ourselves as human beings and our place on earth. It is the area of survival and relates to our basic human instincts of fight or flight. Red gives us courage and strength. The colour relates to stability and security.

So am I feeling secure? Not sure. Stable? Not really. Well, I don't feel not stable.

Anybody else have anything for me?

Nobody who knows me can believe that I keep being drawn to red.  It's happened alot where the first thing I've chosen has been something red. It's like a magnet and I'm very curious to find out why.

Will NEVER like red shoes though. Unless their Dorothy's in the Wizard of Oz.

The Greatest Triumph ...

I really love seeing the world through the eyes of a two year old - sometimes.

Not always - especially not when trying to figure out why she wants me to open something, only to then chuck the biggest wobbly because said thing is now opened just to mention the first thing that springs to mind - but every now and then you get one of those moments that makes you think "Wow! Kids are really excited about this for the first time EVER!"

A prime example would be, as my husband pointed out the other day, sitting the extra eggs atop the already full egg tray. The squeals of delight when both the girls realised this could be done. Well I never! Who woulda thunk it? It really is a whole new world out there.

But tonight, our smallest achiever decided she was going to put her pyjama pants on - mind you they were a nice little summer pair that daddy was so not going to let her wear to bed - all by herself. And to our amazement she managed it. 

Not that we doubt her ability it's just that, sometimes I forget just how capable my baby really is. It could be the fact that I wish to stay in denial of her EVER growing up. Or just that I really think it's funny when she puts both feet in the same leg and then wears said pants as a skirt leaving her little bum out there for all and sundry to see. I still just am not coping with how quickly her little life, and that of her sisters, is flying by. It seems every time I turn around they have reached another milestone or worked something out that I have been showing them how to do for what seems like forever.

Anyway after the successful putting on of the pants I have never seen someone so in awe of their own achievement. The squeals and clapping of hands and jumping around you'd think she'd won Australian Idol.

I was so proud of her but she was way more than proud of herself. This could quite possibly be her finest moment. Let's hope it's her finest moment to date and not one that we revisit when she's 21 because we can't think of another single thing she's done that's so awe-inspiring.

And then to top off our evening's entertainment of  "just how good I am at two years old, thank you very much", she decided to display some of her finer dance moves that will be on show for the first time at her new dance class tomorrow. A little bit of pointing the toes, a very deep plie - ie bum touches the ground so really maybe more of a deep squat than a full plie - and to top it off a very dedicated spin which nearly ended oh, so tragically. But, she pulled it off.

It's amazing that she's turned 2 and decided "Yeah, I think it's time to show 'em what I'm made of!"

Fat Lips and Fairies ...

Now, I never thought I'd have to send out a public warning with regards to playing fairies BUT ...

It would seem that the simple, girly act of being a fairy is not without it's dangers. Gone are my ideas of the fairy make believe as being merely a few little girls giggling and dancing around. Apparently this can also be a contact sport, that is, of course with an inanimate object such as, oh, maybe a bench seat!

There were no collisions between the other fairies but it would seem this particular fairy has trouble keeping her feet on the ground and would do better to stay in the air fluttering those little wings of hers.

Luckily, this little fairy required no assistance from the tooth fairy after smashing her head on said bench seat but she's certainly not winning any awards this week for the best looking fairy. I think she may now be given the prestigious title of the Fat Lip Fairy.

My poor little fairy looked very forlorn when I went to pick her up from school yesterday after "the incident" and the icepack she had kept on her cheek made it look even worse.

But, you can't keep a good fairy down and she's back at school today to hang out with her fairy friends.  And I wouldn't mind betting there'll be another fairy game on the cards today with the weather being so crappy that the kids will have to stay indoors.

Oh and here is the photo of my poor little AJ.

Welcome to the World ...

OMG! Just received a message from a friend of mine to say that her little twin girls arrived safely today at 33 weeks.

Weighing in at around 1.7kgs I just can't even begin to imagine how small they must be. Remembering, of course, that I have monster babies at 4kg and over.

They are in special care and both are doing really well as is mum.

I am so, so thrilled for them and hope that the next few weeks is smooth sailing for their little ones.

This friend was the same as me, desperately wanting a #3 to complete the family and after a m/c last year was thrilled to find out she was pregnant again just after christmas only to then have to deal with shock that #3 was now going to be #3 and #4. You can also imagine how anxious my DH was (considering I fell pregnant not long after) when we went for our first scan just at the thought there might be more than one in there. LOL 

She was thrilled obviously and, then after 2 boys, was even more happy to discover that #3 and #4 were both girls. Talk about balance and meant to be huh?

But over the past few weeks her tiny frame has been stretched to it's limits by these little babes and she was getting very uncomfortable and even a little distressed at the discomfort she was experiencing. My bet was that she wouldn't make it past 34 weeks but I didn't think they were this close.  I was actually just about to text her to see if were doing our regular playdate tomorrow but I'm guessing now that she won't be making it. LOL

Just had to write it down somewhere. I'm so excited!!!

Who loves ya Babylove?

Well, I can stop stressing about cars and carseats now. 

After spending most of the past few weeks sifting through options including the purchase of a new car we have finally found our solution thanks to our local baby store.

We have had to purchase two new seats (one for Schmoo and one for AJ) for right now - well, okay, we didn't need them right now but we had gone back to buy a specific seat that they only had one of in stock and nowhere else could get them in. Once there I then needed to see for myself if the ones I actually liked better would fit, which to my utter disbelief they did so we ended up having to buy the seats today after promising AJ a new pink booster seat - we will then hire a capsule for a few months come October and then at the beginning of the year purchase another carseat for bub #3. 

So now we are very co-ordinated with our seats being that both of these are the same brand and .... you guessed it ... PINK!!! Because Schmoo had to be the same as her sissy! Thank goodness I'll be buying the 2nd seat before this baby is old enough to have a preference. 

I have to say though, they are pretty snazzy seats. How could any little girl resist one of these. And AJ has the booster in the same colour. We are Babylove crazy now. Even the capsule we're hiring is Babylove. 

There is another part to this story though and I just have to write about it because I find it so odd. I originally went to another baby store this morning and looked at the exact same carseats but the lady there clearly did not want to put them in my car to see if they would fit and she actually ended up sending me to the baby store near us that I didn't even know existed. There were three women working in that store this morning and because they wouldn't just put the damn seats in my car - which the poor lady at my new fave store did more than once for me today - they lost a sale which, by the time I'm finished purchasing not only all the seats but also a new baby monitor and possibly other bits and bobs, will be at least $1000. 

Now I know I'm not in the running to buy all things baby due to this being #3 but still, I wouldn't have thought $1000 would be a figure to be sneezed at??? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe when I said I need seats to fit my car and I'm willing to pay she thought "Pffft. Is that it? I can make that in the sale of a pram!" Obviously the fact that I was willing to pay for whatever she sold me wasn't enough to convince her. And when I said that anything would be cheaper than a new car she still didn't find me worthy. She, by the way, was 8 weeks away from having a baby but surely she could have got one of the other ladies to help me?

It does actually suit me to have found a baby shop right near us though so all's well that ends well - including one very tired Schmoo who collapsed into bed as soon as we got home tonight.

So, all in all an expensive exercise but no way near as expensive as the purchase of a new car!

Can you tell I'm relieved? Now I can start focusing on the more pressing issues like ... ummm, nothing ... I've got nothing. Oh, yes I do! Finding forest berry quickeze. Not easy to find here apparently and I'm very much in need of them.

Nits!!!

We have been infested for weeks on end with the little buggers and try as I might the girls were getting them back every two days!

I just couldn't work out how on earth they could be getting them back so quickly. I even resorted to chemical treatments which I was trying desperately to save their little heads from but I was at a loss as to what to do next.

Now, rewind a few weeks because I am part of this story. So, I treated myself twice for them too because Schmoo and I were the first casualties and poor AJ didn't get them until a little girl at school "borrowed" her hat for the week she was away. No guessing where she got them from. Thanks to the mum who didn't think to wash my daughters hat before giving it back knowing her daughter had lice. : (

Anyway, after treating myself my head became increasingly itchier? Is that a word? Well it is for the purpose of this story. I got my husband to check my hair every few days because the itching was waking me up at night it was that bad. I got a hairdresser to check my hair and at desperation point got my lovely GP to have a quick search because if it wasn't lice I needed something, anything, an answer to stop the itching. 

So three weeks later and waking up at 4am nearly every morning and scratching my head so much I can't believe it didn't bleed, I get another friend to check said lice-free hair. Nope, can't find anything but a few dead eggs so probably nothing to worry about. Get home and say to my husband* "That's it! You are going through my hair strand by strand if you have to". Grab the comb to show him how to make a clean part to the scalp for easy viewing and he casually says "Oh look! There's one there!" 

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Over 3 weeks of going insane and everyone telling me it was psychological because the girls had it and it turns out that I was reinfesting them every morning when they'd come in for morning "cuggles". I just can't believe nobody could find anything. I'm so annoyed that we have been going through this when there was such a simple solution!

I'm happy to report they have been lice-free since Wednesday night because they haven't been coming in for their cuggles for one reason or another and now, hopefully, I am also free after a good friend came over and went through my hair twice for me on Sunday night. That is, of course, after I had ripped through my hair for nearly 2 hours on Friday night.

My head is itching again just thinking about it!  I HATE lice!!!!

So, now, every Friday night we'll be sitting down and going through our hair to ease my paranoid state of ever getting the little bastards again!

On the bright side, at least my head wasn't burnt by the treatments which means I can now colour it. It is looking rather shabby. 

I'm even considering getting it done at the hairdresser. I think I deserve some pampering after all this.

*Said husband who won't even help do the girls hair bar putting the treatment on and runs a mile at the mere sight of the nit comb. However, I think the girls are now grateful that I was the one combing through their hair. Why is it that men get to a knot in the hair and just keep pulling hoping that it will just glide through? My girls have suffered some very serious torture at the hands of CJ attempting hairstyling.

Does This Seem Odd???

So I was looking back over our last electricity bill yesterday because a different company now looks after our electricity so I wanted to change our BPay details. You know, just getting up to date with meaningless stuff.

Anyway, reading through it, we are in credit! Yay for us! Good. That's how I like it - quoting Grandpa from one of the girls' favourite books - because with ducted airconditioning, a pool and solar hot water that can't be relied on due to the sun having it's own agenda you never know when a big bill is going to strike. This is why we now make a weekly payment just to stay on top of things, ya know?

So, looking over the bill I notice this:

Latest News
As your account is in credit please advise us of your postal address so that a refund can be sent to you.

Ummmm, don't they have our postal address considering they are sending us bills?

It's Happened...

All of my security is lost! I feel so sad and can't stop crying and I don't know if it's really that bad or if it's pregnancy hormones or the combination of the stress of everything compounding but I can't help feeling this sad.

I feel totally rejected, unloved, used!

And worst of all, not just by one person but by the two people I thought I could rely on forever! Totally separate issues yet they have managed to invoke the exact same emotions!

What do I do now? The irrational choice is to run. Pack up the kids and just go but to where? I just want to go. This part I'm sure is caused by raging hormones but it's how I feel.

I can't help it.

I am just. So. Sad!