TGIF...

Friday!!

Bliss.

I ADORE Fridays. Even better, Fridays at 3.31pm, when the final bell has rung and kids are streaming out the door. It's been a tough week, but then, my gold weeks always are. I've only had 3 planning sessions, but I have another one first up today which is a great way to start the day. I've also been working double time as I need to finish nearly all assessment tasks by the middle of next term, so I can get reports done by the time I go on maternity leave. Eek! Plans for this weekend:

• Shopping with Summer tomorrow morning. I'm finding that my cupboard is shrinking week by week. Things I could wear last week, I now have to resign to the 'post baby' draw.
  

• Continue working on Colby's name blocks. I'll post some photos on Sunday.

• Reorganise my wardrobe.

• Work on paintings for chickpeas room.

• Clean the house.

• Pick up the mirror we bought 3 MONTHS AGO (Grr Deon!)

• Figure out a way to organise my jewelery- the tangled mess is not a good look.
  

• Visit Dee- Colby got to go home yesterday!

Plus, I have a whole season of Grey's Anatomy to watch as well. I'm looking forward to it.

Ikea Wish List...

Shelf Unit

Woven Baskets

Antilop High Chair

For the thousandth time, I WISH we had an IKEA here! Practical, modern, and best of all, cheap. It irks me so much that they don't deliver online. We really need something like it here, as I don't particularly feel like driving a minimum of 4 hours to the nearest store!

Delightful objects on my wish list:

Zen Again...

From Danielle's blog...

What's your Home Style?

I got Zen once again.. pretty accurate I feel!

Bits and Pieces.

And... we're booked in!

I'm feeling great about it. We're booked into the course on the 16th and 17th of May, and the great thing is that we can stay with Lan on the weekend too.

I've been playing Chickpea lots of calming music before going to sleep each night too. It's supposed to help them remain clam after the birth, and help them sleep. Who knows really.. but it can't hurt to try!

Had quite a full-on day today.. spent the morning with Dee and Colby (where I got my first hug, yay!) and after grabbing some groceries I went and saw He's Just Not That Into You with Summer and Niccy. I really enjoyed it, and will be buying it when it comes out on DVD.

Feeling quite exhausted at the moment, which is a little worrying as I have a big week at work coming up. I'll be trying to take it as easy as possible...

Calmbirth

After my meltdown on Wednesday, I felt like I needed to take control of the situation, and arm myself with as many techniques and skills as possible to help me overcome my fear of childbirth. I also wanted to change my feelings about the hospital- from a place that put me on edge to a place I could feel comfortable with.

I've been researching the calmbirth classes, and I've discovered weekend courses in Melbourne and Adelaide. Deon has been wonderful, and said he'll support me and come along to whichever one I chose. I like the look of the Melbourne one, and I'm just waiting to hear back from the woman running it to see if she has any classes in April. Fingers crossed.

http://www.lotuscalmbirth.com.au/

Anxiety.

Not sure what I'm feeling at the moment. Starting to get quite a bit of anxiety about everything. Had the hosipital booking appointment yesterday, and that seems to have bought all of my fears to the forefront. Had the worst night's sleep- I kept having nightmares about everything that could go wrong. So, today, I'm overtired and a bit emotional.

I hope it passes soon.

Morning Routine.

Photo from Flickr

I've discovered that although I'm not a morning person, once I've woken up, mornings are actually one of my favourite parts of the day. It starts off:

• 6- 6:15am: Stumble out of bed, and sit in the bath trying to wake up. I've discovered that chickpea seems to quite like the water, as I can't feel any movement when I'm relaxing in there. Have a chat with Deon, where he asks what I'll be up to today.

• 6:45: Do makeup, hair, etc.
  

• 7.oo: Open the door to let Mish in, and give her some breakky. Grab my own breakky, which is currently 2 English muffins with Strawberry jam and a cup of tea.

• 7:10: Settle on the couch with breakky and my laptop. Catch up on any emails and facebook stuff. Put on any TV show from the night before that I've taped. By this stage Mish is already asleep on her blanket on 'her' part of the couch.

• 7:45: Get dressed for work, pack lunch, etc.

• 8- 8:15: Put Mish outside, feed Nikita, water Strawberry plants and head off to work.

I love taking my time to get ready in the morning, as it puts me in the right headspace for work. I need time to relax, and if I find that I rush, it puts me out for the whole day. The only thing I miss is not being able to chat with Lan on MSN any more, as we used to do it every morning.

They're Home xx

Was very excited when I found out yesterday that Dee and Colby were flown home. So, I raced to the hospital in my free session today and had my first visit with little Colby.

Colby with his Mum's wedding ring.

He's just adorable, and it was so good to see Dee again. I bought her 2 Pumpkin Patch premmie jumpsuits, as Colby was running out of things to wear.

It's definitely made things so much more real for me. I think I'll be sticking like glue to Dee to learn as much as I can! She loves it though, by filling me in on all the info it keeps her in the teacher mode ;)

Tomorrow we have the hospital booking in appointment, then the 20 week scan on Thursday. Hopefully I'll be able to post a pic of the scan.

Another Little Quiz...

Photo from Flickr

Another little quiz I found on another blog, however this one is based on your relationship. Thought I'd give it a go for a bit of fun.

♥ What are your middle names? Elycia.. and Deon doesn't have one.

♥ How long have you been together? 10 years and 2 months

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Since I was a baby.. apparently we used to play in the sandpit together.

♥ Who asked who out? When I was 16, I initially asked him out, and he turned me down saying I was too young. 2 years later, and he was chasing me.

♥ Do you have any children together? One on the way xx

♥What about pets? An Alaskan Malamute called Nikita, and a little grey cat called Mischa. They're our furbabies.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Growing from teenagers into adults, and changing and shaping personalities while staying in a relationship was at times difficult, but it's wonderful now.

♥ Did you go to the same school? Yes, the same High School.

♥ Are you from the same home town? Yes.

♥ Who is the smartest? I think to think that academically I'm smarter, while Deon is more street smart.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? I am for sure!

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Pizza Cafe.. but we're quite happy eating at home.

♥ Who has the craziest ex? Neither of us.

♥ Who has the worst temper? Me.

♥ Who does the cooking? I do, Deon does the washing up.

♥ Who is more social? Depends on the situation, but me in most cases.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Definitely me. Mess tends to stress me out.

♥ Who is the more stubborn? We both can be, but Deon is a little bit more.

♥ Who hogs the bed? Neither, we tend to stick to our own side.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Deon does- I'm not a morning person.

♥ Where was your first date? To be honest I can't remember, as we were only teenagers!

♥ Do you get flowers often? I used to, but not anymore.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? Lazing around the house, movies, enjoying each others company, or we'll travel somewhere.

♥ Who is more jealous? We don't really get jealous!

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Not long, Deon told a friend that he'd 'found the one' and was going to marry me 2 weeks into our relationship.

♥ Who eats more? Definitely Deon.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? Deon does, but I do if he works on the weekend.

♥ Who’s better with the computer? He is, he loves them.

♥ Who drives when you are together? He does.

Heartbreak.

I hadn't been able to blog about the Victorian bushfires over the past week, as I simply couldn't find the words to express the heartbreak I felt when viewing photographs or news reports of the utter devastation that occurred. I still can't find them. It still moves me to tears.

As a media teacher, my class wanted to talk about the coverage of the fires. Some of them could just not comprehend just how horrific it must have been for the residents caught up in it. As I feel that a picture tells a thousand words, I decided to show them the gallery on www.news.com. They sat silently through the whole thing.






Our school held a fundraiser on Wednesday, and raised almost $4000. The staff donated goods and ran an auction at recess. I personally donated a framed artwork that I created, and it raised $120 which I was quite proud of! It was just wonderful to see all the students and staff band together to raise money for this cause.

If you would like to donate, go to The Australian Red Cross

Another good cause: If you would like to knit and sew some pouches for the thousands of injured animals, head to this facebook group.

Yummy Slice

I made this slice last weekend to take to work, and believe me it didn't last long! Everybody loved it, and the best thing about it was how incredibly simple it was to make. The sour cream tastes just like a cheesecake topping- delish!

Apple & Cinnamon Slice

Preparation Time

5 minutes

Cooking Time

35 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 340g pkt golden buttercake mix
• 1 cup (90g) desiccated coconut
• 125g butter, melted
• 400g can apple pieces
• 300g sour cream
• 1 tsp cinnamon sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm square cake pan. Line base and the two opposite sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm over edge of pan.
2. Combine cake mix, coconut and butter in a medium bowl. Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. Cook for 15 mins, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.
3. Spread apple evenly over base, then spread sour cream evenly over apple and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cook for further 20 mins, or until sour cream has set.
4. Cool in pan. Cut the slice into fingers to serve.

Source

Fresh Living - October 2005, Page 42

Recipe by Jenny Webber (Reader recipe)

18 Weeks.

Well, I'm 18 weeks today, and it's about time I posted another belly shot.



Feeling quite good lately, just getting tired at the end of each working day. I have never appreciated the weekends as much as I do now! I was quite excited as I started feeling chickpea move at 16 weeks- tiny little butterfly flutters- and Deon felt some of them for the first time yesterday. Very special moment.

We've chosen the cot, stroller and capsule, and I've been stocking up on the basics. I can't believe I'm almost halfway!

Excitement All Round!

I am very excited to introduce...

Colby Glen Marr xx

One of my best friends, Dee, had her waters break unexpectedly last Tuesday morning. This wasn't the best news, as she was only 32 weeks and had to be flown to Adelaide as Mildura just isn't equipped to deal with prem babies born that young. The fact that the baby was still breech didn't help either.

However, she rang me this morning, and told me that Colby was delivered by C-Section last night. He's 4 pound, strong and breathing well. I am so thrilled and over the moon for her, as she's waited 3 years to hold a baby in her arms. I can't wait until they get home so I can see them both!

Throwing Around Ideas.

From the Etsy shop 'Nursery Love'

I've been looking for a set of blocks to place in the nursery to add a bit of decoration, but so far none have been quite right. Deon has offered to cut up and sand me some blocks, so I can create exactly what I want. We've decided on a modern 'safari' theme, so each block will have textured animal print, raised wooden letters, fabric coverings, etc.

I've also been working on some paintings for the nursery. Images of a giraffe, elephant, lion and zebra. However, there is nothing 'cutesy' here.. no cheesy grins on these animals! The paintings will be small, with large white frames, and hopefully a wall decal in the background. Here's my inspiration:



I'm 18 weeks tomorrow. How time has flown. I'll have to post another belly shot soon.

Style Finder.

Danielle inspired me to take this style quiz from the Ikea website. Turns out I'm Scandinadian Zen.. very cool, just what I like!


I still have a fixation with Lime. It's definitely my favourite colour at the moment. It's just so cool and fresh, and gives a bit of spark to any room. However, the splashes of lime I have in my yuccas plants aren't doing too well at the moment, the poor things just can't handle this heat. Even my 'drought resistant' plants can't tolerate 2 weeks of 40+ degree weather.

Thankfully there's a cool change on Sunday, so I may be able to save them.

13 Random Food Quirks..

Photo by La tartine gourmande

I found this list on another blog, and thought I'd steal the idea to put on mine.

13 random food quirks that I have...

1. Since being pregnant, I can't get enough of Diet Coke. Especially the watered down pre-mix stuff from Maccas and Subway.
2. I can't stand any food that has cooked sultanas in it. I'm always wildly disappointed if I come across a sultana in a slice, muffin etc.
3. I love tomato. Fresh, cooked or sun dried, I eat them all. I even go as far as having sandwiches with just tomato in them.
4. When going out for tea, 9 times out of 10 I'll order a seafood dish as it's always so much nicer than I can cook it at home. The BEST seafood I have ever had is a take away pack from The Oyster Bar in Glenelg.
5. Chocolate is a huge weakness. It took a long time for me to be able to go a day without eating something with chocolate in it.
6. My favourite part about going out for tea is sharing a dessert with Deon at the end.
7. Every Summer holidays, I have strawberries, banana, yogurt and museli mixed together for breakky.
8. In Winter, my favourite breakky is an English muffin with just the right amount of vegemite, and a cup of tea. (Intense Lipton is my favourite!)
9. I wish I had the energy to try a different recipe every week. I can do it while I'm on holidays, but always resort to the tried and true recipes during the week while I'm at work.
10. I always look forward to Christmas so I have the excuse to eat as many fresh prawns as I want. I was very disappointed to miss out last Christmas!
11. For me, the best part about Chinese take-away is eating the leftovers the next day. Very yummy.
    
12. I can't stand anything with curry in it. I've tried it many times and have come to accept that it and I will never be friends.
    
13. My favourite food smell is a BBQ. Whenever the neighbours are cooking a BBQ at night, it instantly makes me ravenous.