Tagged!

by Aimee at Aimee's Land. I hope you get to know something you didn't know about me before!

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Naomi sleeping through the night consistently (maybe by the time she is in high school!)
2. taking my sewing to sell at a local craft market in a few weeks
3. trying the Cadbury's choc-mint drinking chocolate that I bought this week
4. our holiday to the Whitsundays in August
5. a lazy afternoon of sewing and baking scones this afternoon
6. bacon & eggs cooked by Brad, for breakfast tomorrow morning
7. lots of travel when the kids have left home!!
8. my birthday next month

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Posted off my first sale from SashaSews!
2. bought a new pair of jeans on sale at Rivers
3. made fresh pasta with Naomi
4. had lunch and a cuppa with my mum
5. fed Ryan
6. surfed the web
7. cut out fabric for a new bag
8. pushed Naomi around on her bike

8 things I wish I could do:

1. knit
2. live in the UK again
3. own a cosy cottage B&B
4. own a sweet craft and books store
5. lose 5kgs!
6. be more organised
7. find a gym with Pilates and child-minding on at the same time!
8. hug my dad one more time, tell him i love him and introduce my children to their Grandad.

8 shows I watch:

1. Master Chef
2. news
3. CSI
4. Law & Order
5. Playschool
6. Bananas in Pyjamas
7. Antique Roadshow
8. any classic British comedy or period drama

People I tag:

Emma at Heart at Home

Nikki at Nikki's Notes

Kara at EskimoKissesandAirHugs

Kimberly at Raising Olives

Melody at biglittlesister

What a weekend!

We had a long weekend here in Queensland, and on the Tablelands, the May long weekend is always dedicated to the Mt Garnet races and rodeo. It is about 90 minutes drive out west into the bush. Mt Garnet has a population of about 100, and about 2000 for this weekend. The rodeo, races and obligatory B & S ball brings people in from all the stations.

I love rodeo - it brings back vivid memories of childhood times spent huddled against the cold, watching the open bull riding ... or working in the Scout canteen, selling burgers to fundraise. And the music, dust and checkered shirts just make me happy - I am a country girl at heart.

This was the view of the sky over the arena, as the sun was setting behind me -- is there anything as beautiful as big sky country?

We camped the night and Naomi was thrilled to sleep in the tent.... she even slept through the music, and the mine trucks that drive through the night along the road behind the campsite!

A Farewell, and Feeling Guilty

Today I say farewell and thank you for all your long years of service, to Sadie, my vacuum cleaner. She has been with me through thick and thin ... until today. I was half way through vacuuming our little patch of lounge room carpet when **pop** and clouds of acrid black smoke billowed out of the little grill on the back of the machine. And I mean, it smelled awful. I had to open windows and turn on the fan to get rid of it!

I do try to get major appliances repaired where possible, but I think that after 10 years, this hard working machine deserves to take her final rest.

Just to clarify, I don't name ALL of our appliances... only the important ones. Like Gunther (spelling?), the fridge.

The reason for this inane post is because I am trying to keep my feelings of guilt at bay. My sweet Miss Naomi is spending her first day at Family Day Care today... without me. She has made some great progress in coming out of her shell, and getting a bit less shy in the last few months. We didn't want to lose that progress by moving to a town where we don't know anyone and she has no little play friends. And also, I have been feeling the need to have some time to catch up on housework, sit on the couch and get to know Ryan, and to do a few things that I enjoy. So I signed her up for 1 day a week, in family day care.

Naomi enjoyed our visit to Stephanie's (our daycare "mum") house last week. She was excited to play with other kids. But then this morning, reality hit. She cried "Mummy come too" in the car, all the way to Steph's house. I know that a short goodbye is best all round, but it was so hard to leave her crying, in someone else's arms.

And now I am feeling guilty, for wanting some Naomi-free time at all. Is it awfully selfish of me? If I clean the house from top to bottom, and do 4 loads of washing, will that help to relieve my guilt, so that I can tell myself it was productive time?

Bliss is...

a long nap, on a warm afternoon.

A friend mentioned to me that she had read that children may sleep better when they are in the same room. I was a bit sceptical but the proof is in the pudding (or the snoring, in this case!). My cat-napper Naomi has been asleep for nearly 1 1/2 hours, without me lying on the bed with her (totally unheard of). Maybe the little snuffles and squeaks that Ryan makes are just enough to make her subconsciously believe I am there?

Whatever the reason, I am enjoying the peace and quiet!

I am not a morning person, but...

I must admit that it isn't too bad starting the day off when it is still cool enough to drink a cup of tea, and watching Naomi play on our front verandah (today she was lizard spotting). We wave goodbye to Daddy at 6.30am, and after 2 weeks of playing non-stop together, Naomi is distraught if she doesn't see him in the mornings.

Here is the view from the front door step, where I was sitting this morning with my tea and toast.

The tranquility was only broken by the garbage truck coming on its weekly round!

Company Girl Coffee

I have a confession to make. I have been lurking on Rachel Anne's blog, Home Sanctuary, for several months now. I don't always do the Small Things challenges, but I do THINK about doing them (ha ha ha - how bad is that!), after I finish working with the Family Day Care children, at the end of next week.

So anyway, I have decided to come out of the closet, have emailed Rachel Anne and asked her if I may please become a Company Girl too. Please please please please, pretty please!

Perhaps for my first Company Girl Coffee session, I will tell you about our own special part of Paradise. I am a wife to Brad, and mum to Miss Naomi (nearly 2). I am also pregnant with our second baby, due in March. And I am hot... darn hot. You see, we live in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Where it is currently summer, and monsoon season as well - so hot, humid and driving me crazy!

But I do love Christmas, and am looking forward to having my sister and her family of 4 kids stay with us for the next week. Am hoping to get the rum balls and Christmas cake made today, so that is one less thing to do before Christmas. I do looooove rum balls!

Meet Bluebell...

A warm welcome to the newest member of our family... Bluebell the Budgerigar. We have been mulling over getting a pet for Naomi for a little while now. With work and the prospect of moving we didn't think that a dog or a cat would be the right level of commitment for us to take on at the moment. So that left rodents, fish or birds. Brad outright refused my suggestion of a mouse. I can't understand why!! We decided that fish didn't give too much interaction, so a bird it is.

Bluebell has been a big hit with Naomi. Every morning she races out to say hello to 'bubble'. She is thrilled when Bluebell eats the seed that she has helped to put in the dish, or drinks some water ("Bubble eat seed!"). With a lifespan of around 12 years, we are hoping that Bluebell and Naomi have many happy times together, and that our little princess learns a bit about responsibility and a love for animals too.

Having said all of that, we have been a house of sickness for the last 5 days. I started with a chesty cold, the coughing had me nauseous and then the nausea took on a life of its own and turned into gastro. I ended up with a shot of maxolon from the doctor to settle my stomach, so that I could at least keep fluids down. Then on Saturday evening, Brad came down with the same thing - we ended up in our hospital's Emergency Department for him to have the same shot. In Brad's case, being type 1 diabetic, he has to be able to consume a reasonable amount of carbohydrate, or his blood sugar levels drop dangerously low. When he can't keep down fluids, we know we are in trouble and it is time for intervention.

Thankfully Naomi's tummy has remained unaffected, although she has done some truly awful nappies in the last couple of days (sorry... too much info!). Again, the Lord has blessed me with a clogged up nose so I can't smell them during the changing process. We must be grateful for small mercies!

Still alive!

Although it feels like I have dropped out - or off the planet - for the last few months, I am now beginning to feel that I have just a small bit of control over my body and my life again. The morning sickness has almost totally receded, and aside from aching feet and being exhausted at the end of every day, I am actually now feeling pretty good again!

I have had so many ideas for posts in the past few months, that just haven't materialised into words on the screen. My mum and I went to a wonderful quilt show about 8 weeks ago, and I found the photos still on my camera the other day. I will definitely get to posting them up on here... soon! (Can't rush these things, you know!).

Anyway, in other news, there is the distinct possibility of a move in our near future - to the other end of the State. Brad's project work here in our city is wrapping up, the next project that company have lined up for him is over an hour's drive each way, up a winding mountain range, and they are not making any provision for families to move closer to the site. With work hours being 7am to 5pm, and every 3rd Saturday as well, we wouldn't see much of him - which is not a prospect I would look forward to, with the new baby due in March.

So instead he is looking seriously at other options in the south of the State, and specifically a move to our capital city (hi sis!). But we shall have to wait and see how the interviews go......

Must dash. Naomi has woken up from her unusually long nap (all of an hour!).

One born every minute

A sucker, that is!

I have been putting off going back to my usual hairdressing salon. It has been about 4 months now - I tell myself that I am growing it back out after 7 years of short hair. In fact it is just that I have recently had trouble justifying the expense of this luxury salon - not to Brad, but to myself. I think I am my own harshest financial critic. I had just decided to make an appointment at the much cheaper hairdresser at our local shops, when a parcel arrived on my doorstep. It contained this....

A birthday gift from my salon. A selection of delicious hand creams, soap and bath gel.

Did I do the sensible thing and set it aside from my mind? No, not me. I started thinking about what a fantastic salon they are - how luxuriously pampered I always feel after an hour or 2 there. What a great job Jessica does of cutting my very thick and fluffy hair. How I adored the hairstyles that she did for our wedding.

And I rang up to make an appointment 'just for a trim - I am thinking of growing it out'.

Tropical cool and war wounds...

You know its autum when... you can have a lazy Sunday morning in your soft fluffy warm dressing gowns without overheating! Yes, we here in Paradise think that it is getting cooler - the days are now around 28 to 30 deg C. Clear blue skies make for crisp cooler mornings (in our opinions, anyway!). Naomi is now bundled in flanelette pyjamas for overnight (mostly because I don't have a sleep bag that fits at the moment, and she hates having covers on her).

Yep, people, this is the best time of year, here in Paradise. The heat and humidity have gone (although I do miss the monsoon thunderstorms and rain). You can pretty much guarantee that the weather will be fine on any given day, and it is cool enough to make your morning cup of tea a total pleasure.

However, whilst the weather may be divine, things in the Cherished household are taken one day, and sometimes one hour at a time this week.

You may have noticed the red splodge on Naomi's nose, in the above photos? She took a tumble down the auditorium steps at my mum's graduation ceremony on Saturday afternoon. It was a glorious swan dive - right onto the metal non-skid strip that they attach at the front of stair treads. Think cheese grater effect, on very delicate skin. She had a red lump on the forehead and gravel rash from bridge of the nose right down to the top lip. Blood everywhere. Screams echoing around the auditorium. And I couldn't even muster up a tissue - not even the crumpled up type that live in the bottom of every handbag (you know you have one lurking in there somewhere!). But not me. Because I don't carry a handbag - just a gorgeous little pink princess ballerina backpack, stuffed with snacks, crayons, paper, toys and a spare nappy. I briefly flirted with the idea of sticking the clean nappy on Naomi's face, but thought the better of it when I realised it may be needed later.

So instead, I scooped up screaming child and all our paraphernalia and hobbled painfully (as I had twisted my ankle earlier that day!) the 50 metres to the nearest bathroom, to get handtowels with which to stem the bleeding.

It has left a very impressive scab down her nose. But I am having trouble with the top lip - it won't dry up and scab over, because of course the nose has started running like a tap again, causing the top lip area to be constantly covered in... well, you know what I mean.

Consequently, sleeping has been disrupted, child has been very whingey and grumpy and I have been tearing my hair out.

A nice tall glass of Motherhood, anyone??

So much to tell!

NB - Posted without photos until such time as Blogger figures out its "temporary error"!

What a week - so much happening, and yet I have had no time to blog about it!

After much thought and discussion, we have decided to put our house on the market. We are currently in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house that we love. It has a pretty little garden and a lovely pool, and has been the perfect place for us to start our little family. But, with the advent of the Family Daycare business, and the possibility of more little ones, we have decided that we need 4 bedrooms. And it helps that we have found a house nearby that fits our "wish list" (4 bed, 2 bath, office, landscaped pool, bigger back yard for kids to play in, closer in to the village centre), and that we plan to make an offer on today!

The next big decision is which real estate agent to list our property with. We are actually planning on selling our investment property as well, to get a really good deposit for the new house, so we are double customers for some lucky realtor. There is a lady with extensive knowledge of our area (we bought this house off her, and maintained contact in the interim). But she has been a bit presumptuous that of course we would use her company - and the commission she is charging is around A$11,500 per house!

On the other hand, a new-ish realtor (2 years) has taken the market by storm up here, by offering fixed price commissions at much lower rates (around A$6,000 per house). That is half price! And the agent I have dealt with there impresses me as being honest, down-to-earth, not ridiculously pushy or presumptuous.

So today I have to tell the other lady that unless she can do a really good deal on the commission for selling 2 houses, we are listing with the other realtor. **Be strong, Sasha... stand firm. It is a lot of money at stake!**


Let me see, what else to tell.... oh, yes, Naomi has learnt herself a new skill. Look closely at this picture... See that white lumpy thing on the floor in the bottom left of the frame? Yep, she has figured out the velcro fastening on her disposable nappies. More specifically, she has figured out how to undo the velcro fastening! I am going to have to get some nappy covers, or put her in shorts every day from now on, to avoid having to clean the floors again, and again, and again!

Last but definitely not least, it has finally happened.... I am in love. Yes, at the tender age of 30, I have at last found true bliss. Here is my new partner....

We have had my mum's old washing machine for the past 3 years. She had it for 15 years before that. It worked just great, and was nice and large. But it finally died on Saturday morning, so we decided the time had come for a new one. Front-loading, water-saving, quiet-spinning, all-singing, all-dancing... and we get a $200 rebate off the purchase price, from the Government, for buying a water-saving model. This made it cheaper than the top-loading, water-guzzling machines we had been looking at! What bargain shoppers we are.

Do you have a nap routine?

I used to be a very organised person... at work. I have never really been organised at home, despite my best efforts. But today I noticed that I have a little routine thing going.

When Blossom's little eyelids drift closed, the first thing I do is go to the loo. Is there any other job in the world where your "co-workers" not only follow you to the toilet, but want to come in with you, and cry if you shut the door?? So I grab a pee in peace.

Next thing is to put the kettle on, and prepare the cup for tea (aaahhhh... the elixir of the Gods). While the kettle is heating up, I do a quick whip around, generally picking up stray blocks, putting the books back on the shelf and even a very brief sweep of the kitchen floor. Once that kettle boils, though, it is relax time for me. I either read, or blog, or just surf and check my emails, while sipping my reviving Earl Grey blend. I figure that a de-stressed mummy / carer is a better mummy / carer, and the rest of the toys can be picked up at any time.

If there is a miracle and the nap lasts longer than my cup of tea, I do try to get a few other things done, but not until I can count the leaves on the bottom of my pretty china cup.

What do you do when your darlings are asleep? Do you have any routines that are essential for preserving your sanity?

I've been tagged!

My lovely friend Kara has tagged me to divulge 6 things you may not know about me. I can think of about 600 things that are lurking in my background just waiting to be revealed, but here goes with a few things off the top of my head...

1. I don't eat salad, and not much in the way of fresh fruit. Can't stand it - if the Lord had meant me to be a rabbit, he would have given me long ears and a fluffy tail. But I do eat lots of veges, and provide plenty of fresh fruit for Naomi, who is turning into quite the little Fruit Bat.

2. I feel like the UK is just as much "home" to me as Australia. I have visited a few times, and lived in London for 6 months - the best 6 months ever. My grandfather was born in Glasgow, and I have this gut connection to Scotland. Whenever I go there, it just feels right. Like I was meant to be there.

3. I am a water baby. Could swim and laze in our pool all day - if not for the wrinkles!

4. I now have a thing about people taking diabetes seriously. Brad is a Type 1 diabetic (since he was 4), and we have had to go through 2 diabetic seizures, each at about 3am, calling the ambulance and thinking he was going to die, right there in the bed next to me. He doesn't remember them afterwards, so I am the one left traumatised by it. Diabetes is serious, people. And it kills. And most of us can do something about not getting it.

5. I love to travel. All over the world, but particularly Europe. I also want to see Canada, and "Big Sky Country" Montana.

6. Why Montana?? Because I am a country girl at heart, and always will be. Wide open spaces bring me peace, and a closeness to God.

Now I am going to tag my new friend, Barbara, and my sister Emma.

To Dr Smith, with Love

Is there any more important service provider to your family, than your trusted family doctor? Ours is a lovely man, Dr Smith, who has 2 children of his own and a very thriving practice. He used to be located much closer to us at the Cherished household, but has moved his business to about 20 minutes drive away. He is so popular that getting appointments at short notice is difficult, and he is perennially late (go at 9.45 for a 9am booking!).

But he is so good with Naomi, and at reassuring her parents. Naomi had her 12 month injections today (well, 2 of them - the third is in 2 weeks time, because of a shortage of the vaccine), as well as a weigh and measure. That was the part I was dreading. At 6 months I took her to our local free health clinic for injections and a check-up. I ended up feeling terrible as the nurse told me she was "failing to thrive", due to her being in the bottom 10th percentile for size. I was told that I wasn't breastfeeding her enough (6 times a day was not enough?!?!).

Since that time I have snuck into the self-serve weigh and measure room, avoiding clinic hours, to monitor Naomi's progress without being guilt-tripped over having a small child (hello -- I am 5'2". Brad is 5'4". Do you think we will be breeding basketballers???).

So when Dr Smith weighed and measured her and we saw that she has not grown any taller, nor put on any significant weight in the last month, he just looked at me and said "Is she active?" -- Yes, started walking and can't keep her still! --. "Does she eat well?" -- Yes, like a horse --. "Is she still breastfeeding?" -- Yes, at least twice a day--. His final verdict -- "Well, then, she is doing fine and is going to be a petite little darling."

I could have kissed him. What a relief to not be put through the wringer.

And, after injections, he gave her a balloon and personally drew a smiley face on it. No sugar-loaded treats in sight, but she was happily playing with the balloon all the way home.

So, I have come to the conclusion that if you find a good doctor, stick with them. Through late appointments and longer drives. Stick with them.

A cosy morning

What better way to spend a few minutes than blogging, while listening to the rain water the garden, sipping a cup of tea and with a scented candle burning on the bench? Oh, and don't forget the dulcet lack of sound which is a child's nap time!

This is how I find myself... wondering how all my stars have aligned to give such a blissful moment? Hmmm... don't think... just enjoy!

I had every expectation that my meagre efforts at gardening would have perished during our week away in the Big Smoke. (I have previously been dubbed "The Butcher", as a result of the tendency that plants in my garden have towards... well... dying). The weather had been hot hot hot, and all my tender new plantings were wilting by mid-morning... even things in the shade! I love cottage gardens, but such temperate plants are difficult to coax in the tropics... unlike weeds, which grow like wildfire!

But I had not reckoned on the monsoon returning in full force, and record rainfalls coming that week. So when I got back, not only were my plants not dead.... some of them were even putting on a very pretty show!

I love agapanthus, for its cool climate cottagey feel, and this is my first ever flower spike from my potted ones. The variety is called "Wavy Navy".

Also this runner vine, which I believe is a relative of the Allamanda. I was digging this garden bed a coupe of months ago, and chopped up some roots of the mother vine, which runs along our pool fence. Numerous runners have sprouted from the chopped root sections, and I am going to transplant them to along our border fence. Hopefully they will cover the view of the neighbour's hideous house extension. But that is another story.

Cosmic humour??

The Lord works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform.

This week He has given us a glimpse of the start of the long-awaited tropical monsoon season, and even the possibility of our first cyclone. It has been raining on and off for several days. This is my favourite time of year in the tropics. The grass is instantly greener, the parched earth has that delicious pre-rain smell, and there is the possibility of the drought gripping our country easing even just a little bit.

However, owing to lack of a clothes dryer in the Cherished Household, I now have what Brad terms "the local laundrette" in our living area. Even this doesn't really bother me, because I love the rain so much. BUT......

This week, just for a little cosmic amusement..... our cloth-nappy wearing Naomi has developed a lovely case of baby diaorrhea....... So I have poopy nappies overflowing from the nappy bucket, nowhere to hang them to dry, and no sunshine to remove the stains! Mmmm.... this week can only get better.