May 31, 2013

Bunnings Baby

So my nesting instinct may have manifest itself through "home improvements" Although I've always considered myself a Janet of all trades. Recently our main shower started leaking...I thought given my current condition I should get a couple quotes. The 1st one was for $595.00.. which I thought was outrageous... the second quote almost induced labor at a whopping $895. It was time to take matters into my own hands. There are a million things I'd rather spend $895.00 on! I furiously drove to Bunnings for DIY supplies. I spent $100 on all sorts of tools and crap...I love Bunnings because you could go there in your PJ's covered in paint and food and no one would look twice. I'd watched a few Youtube videos and was now an expert in the grouting/shower sealing business. I cut away all the silicone with a stanley knife. At this point I realised I might have bitten off more than I could chew.... I took a day off.There was a big gap where I'd ripped out the existing silicone so I just blasted the hole with more silicone! Dad helped with that part...I took another day off. I re-grouted between the tiles on the floor then caulked the remaining silicone around the edges. The corner tape I bought gave a very professional finish to the job which I was pleased with. I haven't turned the shower on yet but I know if I see any leakage whatsoever I will probably want to kill myself. Just as I'd completed the shower the toilet started running.  It's best that I leave that one up to a plumber... I almost cried when I got that quote too. I think I should become a tradeswoman. 

May 30, 2013

Hello Hospital

At 37 weeks baby could arrive any day now. It's time to pack hospital bags. I was overwhelmed by the prospect of packing for such an occasion. I spend my life packing and unpacking but this is a specialised pack I've never done before. Luckily my angel friend Amber came to the rescue and wrote me lists upon lists and made it super easy to get myself together! Bag for labor, bag for me, bag for Baby and bag for Husby. If it wasn't for Amber I would have taken up all my available space with snacks because I've read that you can get hungry in hospital.. (nightmare) She assured me that my hospital stay wouldn't resemble the 40 hour famine. So here's what I've got... Yes it may seem like I'll need a semi trailer to transport it all but... average labour is 10-12 hours so I'll be needing entertainment to take my mind off things... Mum laughed when I told her this.. not sure why. I will mention, I am planning on getting an epidural so hopefully after the first half I'll be able to relax and enjoy the rest! Admittedly I did recently look up a few breathing techniques on Youtube. I've been foolishly thinking the epidural will do everything for me... it won't. 


Labour Bag


  • Panadol (for partner in case I break his hand.. the hospital only gives me drugs! Hooray!)
  • Socks - I got 3 for $10 at Cotton On ;)
  • Rescue Remedy
  • Fans (I bought a giant one from Loot) 
  • Slippers/Flip flops 
  • Lavender Oil
  • Paw paw ointment
  • Bose 
  • ipad (Scrabble, Pinterest, Civilisation)
  • Camera
  • Medicare & Private care card
  • Hair bands/ bobby pins
  • Phones and chargers
  • Toothbrush/paste/mouthwash.
  • Power Ade, juice
  • Nuts, fruit, muesli bars, barley sugar, Cobs popcorn. 
  • Deodorant (Not that I will sweat at all)
  • Vanessa Megan Birth Ease spray (I'd buy any product that featured the words birth and ease)




My Bag
  • Make-up 
  • Hair iron 
  • Big warm cardigan
  • 4 lounge outfits
  • Robe
  • Hairbrush
  • Shampoo/Conditioner/ dry shampoo
  • Plastic bags for laundry
  • Body wash
  • 3x PJ's
  • Lansinoh/nipple pads
  • 8x  XXL undies
  • Bonds feeding singlets
  • Sanitary items
  • Belly Bandit http://www.bellybandit.com.au/bamboo/bamboo-nude.html
  • Baby Journal
  • Chai latte/hot chocolate sachets






    Baby Bag


    • Socks 
    • Beanies
    • 5x Onesies
    • Mittens
    • Singlets
    • Bibs
    • Dummies
    • Wash Cloths
    • 3x Warm wraps
    • 2x Muslin wraps
    • 1x warm blanket
    • Take home outfit

    Ready for you babe!











    May 21, 2013

    Step away from the Wahl

    I don't think I can blame pregnancy on this occasion. I have always possessed a " Bull at a gate" type mentality. Over the years I've gladly volunteered to barber my friends hair.. Or shall I say.. butcher it. It started at a young age, Mum noticed my love of cutting and bought me the "Cut & Style" Barbie. I vividly remember the tune to the ad.. It went a little something like this. "Now you can do what you've never done before, you can snip, snip, snip and snip some more, for the very first time cut as much as you dare! Then just like magic she's got long hair"! Sadly this isn't the case for humans. I know Ashley and Martin hair-loss studio would disagree with me.

    My last couple of cuts have been less that perfect. First victim was my brother. Once he picked up on the vibe it wasn't going well he said in a depressed tone "Just shave it all off" and was probably wishing he'd gone to Just Cuts. Then came my husband.. I insist on cutting his hair because last time he got it cut professionally we practically had to refinance. Not quite, BUT it was outrageous. Money well spent in his mind, especially after my recent effort. I fired up my Wahl clipper and as a time saver went straight for the number 2... there was no going back. I actually dropped the clipper a couple years ago and it makes a really horrific sound so I always try to work quickly and my results shamefully show it. The cut lacked both blendage and evenness. He felt he looked like a member of the Gestapo then proceeded to put on his New Era cap when he sadly realized it was no longer "fitted" due to missing a substantial amount of hair. To make matters worse I laughed soo hard I thought I was going into labour. Service with a smile! He was good humored about it, but made it clear I would never be allowed to cut his hair again, at least not while I'm pregnant. His hair is soo short he probably won't need a cut for 6 months anyway. So I guess that's the end of my hairdressing career... although...my baby boy won't know I'm a bad hairdresser until he's at least 5 and gets teased at school. I won't toss out the clippers just yet..

    Maybe a lot longer in this case.



    May 09, 2013

    Bird of Preg

    I'm still waiting for my "nesting instinct" to kick into gear. For as much as I hate to admit it I'm not a domestic goddess in any way, shape or form. Actually I can bake...  but that's about it and I probably only persisted at it because I love eating cookies and cake. I have mixed emotions about this "nesting" business because I've had the wonderful excuse not to clean because of the exposure to "harsh chemicals", which my pregnancy app says are bad. Even though I bought all natural products... it's better not to risk it, JUST in case ;) During my midwife interview she asked me if I was feeling anxious about being able to do housework after the baby comes. I replied "No, not at all.." This is probably because I live by the motto "My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance" I'll leave the nesting to my husband if my own instinct doesn't come and even if it does.. I'm sure I can suppress it and focus on my other talents.... like crafting and making mess!

    Another symptom of nesting is cooking, I'm NOT in a mental state to cook at the moment (or ever). Recently my brother in law came over for dinner and I thought to avoid disaster I'd do a Mrs Doubtfire and just order some frozen dumplings from The Oriental Tea House... I would simply just have to defrost & steam them.. Voila! Nek minnit I smell "camping" and yes my bamboo steamer is catching on fire. Then my husband didn't eat the chicken ones because he "can't afford to get food poisoning." Compliments to the chef! I have to admit.. they were totally raw when I served them EVEN though I followed the instructions. So I don't think I'll be hosting any dinner parties in the near future.. I'll just stick to microwave oatmeal until I can afford a chef (when I'm in a nursing home). My BFF noticed there was a fire extinguisher attached to the wall in my new kitchen... "You'll be needing that" she said... I had to agree.



    May 06, 2013

    Oatmeal Dream Catcher


    I'm usually not a dream sharer because I test them on my husband who is always disappointed at the anti climactic nature of them."I had the worst nightmare last night!!"... followed by my tale, is usually met with "Wow, that's it?" He has epic war dreams that have a clear plot and narrative with fleshed out characters. Last night I dreamt that I was sipping a Sprite from a Mcdonald's cup when I opened it and found a pair of men's footy shorts complete with undies inside. (Dreams don't care about perspective, trust me.. the shorts and undies were in the cup with plenty of room to spare) I was horrified and went back to the counter to tell them what I'd found "You'll be right" said the man.. sniggering.. I asked if I could have a bottle of water as compensation (I should have sued, that would have made the dream more dramatic ) but the staff didn't know how to open the till. I suppose I cannot classify this as a nightmare. To be honest I'm just glad for any dreams or nightmares these days. Usually I'm up all night trying to keep my heartburn under control! I'd rather footy shorts in my drink than a night wrestling with the 10 pillows I've arranged into a throne. Moral to the story for heart burn sufferers is to have breakfast for dinner or Brinner as my mate Shan calls it. Oatmeal + brown sugar = sleep with a side of footy shorts.


    So I guess I've been running around grenade in hand fighting for freedom.

    May 02, 2013

    Building the Bugaboo

    I was super excited when my pram arrived! I ordered it online from Neiman Marcus in the States. It was much cheaper that way (By about $300) although I did have to pay import tax. Bleh. I chose a Bugaboo Chameleon in the Denim 107. http://www.bugaboo.com/212 My friend Saskia has the Cameleon and loves it. The good thing about this one is you can buy a suitcase for it. We travel around quite a bit so I thought this would be handy. I haven't tried putting it in the suitcase yet... I know it won't be fun and I'll probably throw it off the balcony. 

    I'm getting concerned about how tricky it could be to travel with baby. I recently had a meltdown at Brisbane airport on the journey from the plane to the baggage carousel. There was no aero bridge to the terminal... I felt like I'd climbed K2 by the time I got up the stairs. I burst into tears and a kind bogan carried by bags. Love my fellow Queenslanders. I'll be minimising my hand luggage from now on... I'm carrying enough weight as is... Soon I'll only be able to travel from the couch to the fridge.

    Anyway back to the Bugaboo.. Paige and I built the pram together. I'm glad she was there to help... The assembly instructions are very Ikea-esque and since being pregnant I have noticed my problem solving skills have been declining. Bad combo. I think denim will be good as it could work for a boy or girl. I also have the opportunity to wear denim jeans, a denim jacket and push a denim pram. High farrrshun. My friend Josh would be proud. 



    This is my Grinch pose


    Test Drive!

    There is another special edition Bugaboo coming in June. Andy Warhol + Bugaboo. Super cute.