Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Cushions

I would love a couch that could take cushions, but they don't really work with our current lounge. I am however trying to work out how I could make this cushion work in our house somewhere.

I am thinking maybe in the office on the bench seat.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sock Monkeys

Or in our instance, SockKitty!

I love his cheeky grin, she is a real Cheshire Cat!
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Monday, August 29, 2011

Home Office

In our next house I want an office nook.

We don't really use our office, and don't require a particular room, just a spot to put the iMac, associated devices and office type paperwork.

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Friday, August 26, 2011

One of these is not like the other


Can you tell who is who?
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

House Numbers

I love house plate signs, they just seem elite in my mind. In the words of Homer J Simpson "soon we will be spelling everything with letters".

So whilst paying for something on ebay (Oobi Ruffle Bloomers) I spotted this


Steelcut Creations have heaps of them. Wonder if I could work it into our front veranda update? Would make the cover of the meter box look more interesting.
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Brownies - April Style

When we first came home with Eliza my mum baked for us (a huge thing in her world, as she isn't a big fan of cooking). She would come in daily with a hot meal for both of us, including an entree and main, and some sort of dessert.

Image from here

One of our favourites was Raspberry Chocolate Brownies. I loved them so much they have become a staple in our pantry, and a quick and easy snack that I can take when we visit friends.

Now, some clever folk may make their brownies from scratch, however in our household we are lazy and use a packet mix (WhiteWings Brownie Mix) and frozen berries. All I do is make the brownies according to the box and then chop up the raspberries a bit and throw them on top. Done and dusted.

I highly recommend them, go on, give them a go.
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Monday, August 22, 2011

Things Mummy Loves


I first brought this book for my niece for her birthday a few years back, and have just brought a copy for Eliza. It is such a cute little book, with nursery rhymes that connect with my personality. It is more for me than Eliza though, as I don't think she really cares for labels, but she does care for me!

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Friday, August 19, 2011

Eliza - 2 months


Weight: 5.02kg
Height: 58cm

Feeding: You have started to cut back on your feeding times as you have become a very efficient feeder. What used to take us 40 minutes is now done in 20. The health nurses are very happy with how you are developing, and you are meeting all of your milestones a week or so than they say you should be. 

You have had silent reflux, which was ignored by doctors for some time. Mummy knew something wasn't right, as you would cry and scream in pain for hours on end. Some nights we couldn't even get you to lay down enough to feed. It was heartbreaking to watch and lead her to finding Lardners Colic Relief which contained a natural antacid. It changed you completly and from that we started you on Zantac. 

Sleeping: We are continually amazed at how well you have worked out night and day, and are absolutly thrilled thast you are rewarding us with longer night sleeps. We now average between 6-8 hour stints over night, and mummy generally only has to get up once overnight. A lot of our mummy friends are very jealous of us, though it does mean you don't sleep as much during the day. Mummy and Daddy are willing to deal with that though.

Personality: You have started to smile, saving your biggest grins for mummy first thing in the morning. You have quickly worked out that by greeting mummy with a lovely big smile you will be met with an even bigger smile and a loving cuddle. You have also started to babble away to yourself and will often have a conversation with Lucy the cat.

Looks: You continue to stop complete strangers with your hair. Everyone loves to comment on it and marvel at how much of it there is. I can barely get through an aisle in the supermarket without someone stopping me to discuss it in great detail. We have brought clips for your hair, but mummy never remembers to put them in. We struggle to get rid of your mow hawk at the moment, your hair just needs to grow that little bit more, so most days you look like a very startled baby with hair standing straight up!

You continue to be a tall child, taking after your dad. You have outgrown many of your newborn clothes and now are wearing 000's.

Activities: Bath time has become one of your favourite times to share with mum and dad, and you often scream when we get you out as you want to continue floating and kicking. After a bath we often massage you with a lovely cream (Little Innocents Massage Cream) which you seem to enjoy if the giggles and smiles are an indication.

This month you have started to enjoy your rocker more, and spend a bit of time staring at the magazines and books on the bookshelf in the lounge room. Due to your reflux we sit you in it after a feed to help the yucky acid stay down. Somedays you will happily sit there and chat with the lady/man bugs that are on the toy bar, though you get cranky at them after 10 minutes of them not talking back to you, and start kicking your legs which makes them dance, and makes you giggle.

This month saw you take another trip to Melbourne, and you stayed in another hotel. You were a perfect little girl and allowed us to go out to a swish steak restaurant whilst you slept the whole time. You made your first trip to both the Apple Store and Tiffany's.


Every day our love for you grows and we can't wait to watch you grow into the beautiful little girl we know you will be.

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Renovations

Funnily enough, renovating hasn't been the number one priority in this household of late. It is actually the first winter where we haven't been renovating some room (we always seem to be doing external work on the coldest day of the year).


But there are a few things that need to be done. Like the back veranda that after 5 years still hasn't been cement sheeted. Or the window frame that hasn't been painted and gets forgotten about because the blind is always down. Or the steeple on our house that still has the original maroon paint on it.

But the number one renovation task on our list at the moment, installing an electric fence.

Why you ask? Well it's like this. We live on an acre and half, with 90% of that land being grass. Between a newborn, a husband who works away and a mower that makes Murtle the Turtle look fast, we needed a new stratergy.

Enter Curls and Moe.

We sheep-napped them from my parent's farm, and they are slowly eating their way around our back paddock. A very welcome addition to our little family where the pets outnumber the humans.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Shopping for others

So, whilst pregnant I loved shopping for clothes for our unborn child, but I didn't know what gender to shop for, so I brought both. In order to not put my husband into an early grave, I was rather conservative on buying both genders, despite loving so many little girl things.

As luck would have it, now that I have a little girl, I am not loving the clothes out there for her! How typical! I am however loving the latest gymbo line for little boys (ahem, Amy)



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Monday, August 15, 2011

Pretty Blankies

Eliza is very lucky, and was thoroughly spoilt when she made her slow entrance into the world. She received so many beautiful things, but one think that gets many comments is her cream pram blanket that my mum brought her.

It is amazing, and really does look like it was handmade. I love it so much. Am so tempted to buy one for a friend who is having a baby soon.
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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Birthday Wishes

It was my birthday a few weeks back, and we took a family trip to buy my present, but that wasn't the most exciting milestone of the day.

It was Eliza's first trip to Tiffany's!

I was given free choice of anything I wanted, and it was a tough choice. Eventually decided on this (with Eliza's help - she started her screaming thing when I tried this on, which meant I wanted to get out of the shop quickly)
I am having the husband and my wedding date engraved on the large heart, and Eliza's birthdate on the little heart. I am in love with it.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Nursery (with an actual baby)

So in the interest of being honest, I should state that this is after a quick tidy up. Eliza had not long spewed before I took this photo and all her bedding was in the middle of the floor. 

You can just see a baby in the cot there. The quilt my mum made was removed the first day we got home and hasn't been near the cot since. Pretty things aren't always very practical apparently!

 The kitchen stool entered the room when we spent many hours patting Eliza to sleep. We have since given up on the patting, but the stool has stayed. Oh and we have curtains now!

 The quilt became a chair cover though, so it is still in the room. The chair is an old fashioned recliner (circa 1970 in 1970 mission brown velour) that we borrowed from the husbands parents as I found it comfortable to feed in. That lasted for the first few weeks until I found it uncomfortable and it hasn't been removed yet.

On a pretty note, I brought Eliza a new doona thingie in pink and orange as I thought it was cute, and slightly more functional than the other one. Each night I fold it back and it gets used as an extra blanket.

So there you go, that is Eliza's room as it stands now. A little different to what it was two months back, but it is bound to change in the future too.

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Monday, August 8, 2011

Christmas Planning

So it is only August but I am thinking of Christmas already. There are a few blanks that need to be filled in, which I need suggestions for.

Husband: (meh, he can work that out himself)
Eliza: a SmartTrike

Parents: A personalised calendar and a framed picture of Eliza

Niece 1 (4.5 years old)
Nephew 1 (3 years old): some cartoon DVD's and some books
Nephew 1 (2 years old)
Niece 1 (1 years old): Cocoon Couture beanbag

Any suggestions for the blanks?

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Friday, August 5, 2011

Picnic

Eliza was born in winter, and just our luck it has been freezing cold for the last 8 weeks. Which meant that we haven't been spending much time outside. We go for a walk with the pram every few days, but the little miss is so rugged up it isn't funny.

So on the weekend when the sun finally came out we decided to go on a picnic. Eliza's first picnic!
 All rugged up in the cosi. Love the David Fussenegger blanket from a lovely friend.

We had a BBQ whilst we were out there, and whilst our burgers were cooking a kookaburra swooped down and stole a burger off the hot plate! I wonder if his feed got burnt, as it was pretty hot.

Eliza seemed to love it (read: she didn't scream). Guess we will just have to enjoy the outdoors a bit more now the weather is finally picking up.
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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Drying Cupboards

I spend a bit of time on the couch these days, and therefore spend a bit of time thinking about things. Generally I do most of my thinking at the early morning (4am) feed as I don't turn on the lights.

This morning I was thinking about drying cupboards and how they are a requirement in the house we build.



My mother in-law has one and it looks awesome. Honestly, it saves so much energy by not using the dryer, and the heating is on anyway.
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Nursery (pre-baby)

So tonight I realised I never posted the finished nursery all finished. I posted bits and pieces of it, but not the whole thing. Opps.

 The sunscreen blind I brought from eBay. I can't recommend Jodie Blinds enough. They were very reasonably priced for a custom made blind, and the quality is better than the much more expensive blind in our bedroom. I never did get a pre-Eliza photo of the curtains thanks to the local lady who told me my curtains would be installed mid May, well before my baby was due, and then didn't do them til mid June!






Stay tuned for how reality pans out and see what 'Cyclone Eliza' has done to the room.

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Monday, August 1, 2011

Random Laundry Inspiration



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